The Most Bizarre Tail
by ArchaicPhenominon
Summary: "The sequence" - the magnificence of music resides within the chord progression. Even Mozart once said to the Emperor that no note could be omitted from a piece. The human body is also made of a genetic sequence called DNA. Thus we cannot neglect the existence of that sequence of pre-established facts we call fate. Is it truly absolute? These brave souls will test that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Pardon me if my summary was corny. This is my first story ever, so I hope I don't do too badly. This mainly takes place in the world of 'Fairy Tail', but will make some references to 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' and other things that are hopefully found as humorous, and a few key elements from the series, while at the same time being separate from the canon.**

**If any readers happened to have made characters similar to mine, I possessed no knowledge of that whatsoever.**

**I own nothing except my OC's, both series and all references belong to their respective owners(if you can guess where they came from).**

'Thought,'

"_Whispering, communication device_"

"SPEAKING LOUDLY"

_"Flashback Dialogue"_

**"Different Language"**

**Magic/ Time and Place**

* * *

_**Chapter 1: The Start of a New Bizarre Adventure**_

_You all know how the story goes, how in the realm of Earthland, lies the kingdom of Fiore._

_A neutral nation of 17 million that thrives on and uses magic in everyday life. And how those who have devoted themselves to using magic as an art, the wizards, form guilds, and use their abilities in search of fame, fortune and adventure._

_And how one certain guild stands above all else, and has produced many legends in it's time, and will continue to do so in the future._

_This story, however, is different._

_While a new legend will start this day, the origin of it's situation is much more... bizarre than others._

* * *

**Hargeon Town: Approximately 12:00 a.m.**

"WHAT?! How is this the only magic shop in town?!" a female voice exclaimed in disbelief.

Inside the shop, we find a young woman. She had brown eyes, and blonde hair that was tied into a side ponytail with a blue ribbon. She was curvaceous and buxom, dressed in a white, sleeveless blouse with a blue stripe over the chest and trim. She also wore a blue skirt that went to mid-thigh with a brown belt holding it up and a key ring with a set of gold and silver keys on it, and strangely, a whip with a heart shaped end. Completing her ensemble was a pair black, leather high-heeled boots. She goes by the name 'Lucy'.

"I'm afraid so, this is more of a fishing town than a magic town. I built this shop for wizards who happen to pass through." the shop owner explained, causing Lucy to sigh.

"Man, I came all the way out here for nothing." she said in disappointment.

The owner attempted to lift her spirits by offering some of his other wares. Such as a **Colors Magic**,which allows one to change the colors of their clothes.

"I've already got one of those. What I'm looking for are some powerful gate keys." Lucy declines, telling the shopkeeper what she's looking for.

"Gate keys?" the man repeated as he scratched his head. "Those are pretty rare."

Just then, Lucy spotted a small box tucked away to the side, peering into it, she spots a silver key inside.

"The White Doggy!" She exclaimed, snatching the key and placing it on the counter.

"Uh, you sure? That one's not very strong." The shopkeeper said.

"Doesn't matter, I've been looking for this one for a while now." Lucy said with a smile. "How much for it?"

"That'll be 20,000 jewel." The shopkeeper said, holding up two fingers.

Lucy nearly choked on her own breath at the outrageous sounding price, but kept her cool and continued to smile.

"I'm sorry, how much for it?" she asked again, leaning in a bit closer.

"Uh, I said 20,000 jewel." The shopkeeper repeated.

Suddenly, Lucy sat upon the counter. Her blouse was slightly unzipped, showing a very generous amount of her cleavage.

"How much now~" Lucy asked in a sultry tone, winking at the man.

**About Two Minutes Later:**

"...Cannot believe that old fart only knocked off 1,000 jewel." Lucy huffed as she stormed out of the shop. "Is my sex appeal worth so little?!" she shouted as she kicked a sign down the street.

As Lucy huffed in annoyance, a small group of girls ran past her. She watched where they were heading and saw a much larger group of girls cheering over something.

"What's going on over there?" She asked herself, as another group of girls passed by her.

"Did you hear that a famous mage is in town?" One of the girls asked.

"Yeah, I heard that it was Salamander. I can't wait to see him!" Another girl replied with hearts in her eyes.

"Salamander?" Lucy whispered, her eyes going wide. "They say he can use fire magic that can't be bought in stores! I have to get a glimpse of him!"

And with that, she quickly ran over to the crowd, eager to see this apparent celebrity.

**Close By:**

"...Can't believe I had to ride that stupid train twice," a male voice complained, "No thanks to you!"

The speaker was a lean, muscular young man of average height with a slightly tan skin tone, black eyes, and spiky salmon-colored hair with abnormally sharp canines. He wore a red cloak with white designs, left open to expose his bare chest, a leather brown belt with an oval-shaped silver buckle, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, black open-toed sandals, and an odd scale-patterned scarf.

"It's not my fault you're so bad with transportation, Natsu." a younger voice said back.

The speaker this time was a small cat, with blue fur and a white stomach, a slightly rectangular head with pink ears, big black eyes with small, thin eyebrows, a blue tail tipped with white and light blue marks on his cheeks near his whiskers. He walked up-right and carried a green satchel.

"Anyways, I'm hungry." the cat finished

"Well we don't have any money." Natsu said, frowning. "Hey, Happy, they meant Igneel when they were talking about this Salamander, right?"

"Yep, Igneel is the only thing that comes to mind when I think of Salamanders." Happy replied with a smile.

"That's what I thought too buddy," Natsu said, giving Happy a pat on the head. "I've finally found him! I feel so much better now!"

"Aye!" Happy called out, as he raised a paw.

At that moment, Natsu spotted a large crowd having gathered across the street. Despite the distance he heard a few key words being uttered, such as 'Salamander'.

"That's gotta be him over there! Let's go buddy!" Natsu exclaims as he runs over to the crowd.

"Aye sir!" the blue feline responds, going after him.

* * *

At the same time, Lucy had pushed her way to the front of the excited crowd, and saw the man in question.

He was a relatively tall and slim man with mildly short, spiky hair jutting outwards, with a long fringe left hanging over the upper left part of his face. He possesses a mildly rectangular face with sharp features, dark eyes and thin, dark eyebrows, with a unique tattoo above his right one resembling a pair of tongs. He wore a high-collared cape with a white button up shirt underneath, a pair of light pinstriped pants with visible hems, held up by a simple belt covered in elongated spots and largely hidden by his shirt, and polished dark shoes and on his fingers were an assortment of rings.

From the way he was working the crowd, it was assumed that this was "The Great Salamander".

And when she did see him, her heart began to beat erratically.

_'Why is my heart beating so fast?'_ Lucy thought, as she clutched her hand over her racing heart. And when 'Salamander' turned his gaze over to hers and winked, it felt like her heart would jump out of her chest, and she joined the rest of the crowd with hearts in their eyes.

_'Is it because he's a famous mage?,'_ She thought with hearts in her eyes,_ '__Is this love at first sight?'_

But then from the other side of the crowd, our favorite pinkette had moved past the mass and leap out.

"IGNEEL IT'S ME!" he cried out happily as he finally got through.

But upon seeing the man in the crowd, the excitement instantly vanished. "Who the heck are you?"

And just like that, Lucy had also snapped back into her right mind.

'Salamander' faltered for a second, but immediately got his bearings back, "Can't you tell? It is I; 'The Great Salamander!" he spoke proudly of himself. Somehow, this got the crowd swooning for him again. But then to his shock (and the amusement of some) Natsu had simply turned around and left disappointedly. only for some of the women to jump him and painfully restrain his limbs.

"What's wrong with you!?"

"You dare to disrespect Salamander?!"

"Apologize right now!" They all screamed at him, and threw him back into the crowd.

"Come now ladies, I'm sure he meant no harm." 'Salamander' placated the women. He then pulled out a pen, and a little board of some kind, autographed it, and offered it to the young man,"Here, you can show this to your friends~." he said like it was a prize.

"...Yeah, no thanks, I'm good." Natsu casually refused it. That got him tossed in the garbage by the mob.

With that out of the way, 'Salamander' snapped his fingers whilst saying** "Red Carpet"**, and a reddish purple rune surrounded his hand, then a ring of fire surrounded his feet, and in a flash, he was then raised skyward as if he was standing on some type of platform made of fire. "I've got other matters that I need to attend to, but I happily invite all of you to my yacht for a little soiree I'm hosting tonight. I'll see you then!" Afterwards, he flew off into the distance, leaving a trail of fire following him, and everyone in awe.

With him gone, the crowd dispersed, and Natsu dug himself out of the trash pile. He sat on the ground rubbing the back of his head. Those girls were deceptively strong and he got thrown harder than expected.

"Yo, buddy, you alright?" A male voice sounded out.

The salmon-haired teen turned his head to the side and saw a hand being offered to him. Looking up, the most he could see from his position was green.

Accepting the offer, Natsu took his hand and stood up. "Thanks for that," he told him.

"No problem." Now being face to face, Natsu saw that the hand belonged to a young man standing a little taller than he did. He had slightly tan skin and a toned build. The most notable features were his shaggy, neon-green hair, that shortened into a natural sharp tuft that pointed upwards from his nape, and sharp, emerald-green eyes. He wore a tight, navy blue, sleeveless shirt with what looked like a giant white anchor on the front, over that he had a jade-green button up with the sleeves torn short and what looked like barnacle shaped studs on the shoulders. Both of his wrists had beige wool arm warmers with finger holes. He also had frayed, brown jeans, blue boots and lime green ear studs.

Natsu, ignoring the man's somewhat outlandish appearance, looked off in the direction where 'Salamander' had flown,"Who the heck was that guy?" he asked himself.

"Don't know, but he gave off a real 'douche-bag' kinda vibe." the green guy shrugged.

"Yeah, he seemed like a real creep." A distinctly female voice rang out. Both heads turned to the speaker, and saw that it was Lucy.

"Thank you for your help!" she said cheerfully, giving them a slight wave. But almost instantly, her hand was taken into another's.

Looking at him, they saw he was a different young man. He stood several inches taller than everyone. He had a slim build, long legs, gray eyes, and somewhat pale skin. His hair was silver colored and styled oddly, the top was long, blown back, and all of it was kept in a large curl that pointed towards the back of his head, with the sides cut very short. The back was a slightly shorter length than the top, and it was pointing upwards in two separate tufts. Due to his hair, his forehead was exposed and wrapped around it was a black headband covered in icy blue generic snowflake shapes, but none of them resembled the other. He wore a slate-colored, short-sleeved shirt with a round neck-hole, and a very deep v-neck which stopped in the middle of his torso, exposing his chest and his abdominals. The sleeves had similar openings cut out that reached the base of his shoulders, and on his wrists he wore cyan colored bands. His ensemble was finished with dark gray pants with hoarfrost designs and lighter gray boots.

And right now, he was attempting to put on what many would call, "The Charm".

"Oh no, thank you for blessing us with your radiant presence. Tell me, are you the reason people wear sunglasses indoors?" he said suavely, his eyes somehow sparkling. Lucy just looked at him embarrassed, flustered, flattered, and slightly confused at the situation. The guy was kinda handsome

_'What is happening right now?'_ she thought, along with Natsu. Mostly for seeing another strangely dressed man in such a short time frame.

"You sound like a total dumbass!", a new voice sounded out, causing the silver-haired to pause, apparently irked by the new voice and all heads turned to face the speaker and it was another male.

He was powerfully built with dark tan skin and stood at even taller than the previous man. He had amethyst colored eyes and mid-length brown cut to make a pointed shape towards his neck, while the rest were pulled into a perfect point which hung above his head. From a side view it looked like a perfect right triangle. He wore an orange-brown, long-sleeved jacket with thin black lines running all throughout it, giving it a giraffe pattern design, and a popped collar, the shoulders and elbows having darker brown shapes on them. The jacket was partially unzipped to show a military green, low cut sweater underneath and a golden faux dog tag around his neck. On his legs he had baggy, purple cargo pants with many pockets, and black shoes with a yellow ankh design on the sides.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," the silver man said politely, but his tone and twitching right eye told that he was clearly aggravated, "What exactly did you call me?"

"I called you a dumbass, dumbass. What? Are your ears so clogged with the sound of imaginary women swooning at you that I have to yell?" And the newcomer just pushed right back.

"YOU WANNA DIE?!"

"JUST TRY IT!"

The girl just watched, confused at how what started as an awkward moment, now devolved into a comical shouting match. The green man had gotten in between the two, and was visibly struggling to hold them back from throttling each other.

"I can't leave either of you alone for a minute can I not?" yet ANOTHER voice sounded out, this one causing the two men to cease their argument and essentially freeze in place and causing the green young man to sigh in relief.

Turning to the source, this time they saw two newcomers.

The first one, appeared to be a girl bit younger than herself. She had a slim build, was a slight bit shorter than her, and had blonde hair a shade darker than hers. It was kept mostly short on all sides with the hair on the back of the head reaching her shoulders, and the front was kept in four large tufts that mostly covered her forehead. She had large, expressive, bright blue eyes and had a pair of similarly tinted goggles over them, covering her brows. She wore an orange collarless tracksuit with coal-gray, zigzagging edged lining around the cuffs, zipper, and the neck hole. The zipper was left partially undone, exposing her collarbone. She also wore long white gloves that stopped just below the elbow. On her legs, she wore loose, baggy grey pants with no drawstrings and olive colored slip-on shoes with black rectangle designs around it.

The second one, the speaker, she had to admit, was handsome as well. He was tall with light skin and an athletic, muscular build. He had black, mid-length hair with three upward pointed bangs which hung over his forehead, and royal blue eyes. For attire he wore a red long coat that went down to the back of his knees with a single button closed at the chest, and four light brown squares around the cuffs. There was also brown at the rim of the coattails and on the collar, which was popped. Underneath he wore a sweater that was two separate shades of blue, turquoise and azure. The design on the sweaters collar had two superellipse lines that met in a single pointed shape. This in conjunction with the buttoned coat made a heart shape on his chest right under his neck. On the fronts of his shoulders he wore a pair of purple brooches in the shape of peace signs. He finished off with midnight blue, tight fitting dress pants and black boots.

"I apologize if my friends made you uncomfortable in any way." the brunette said politely.

"N-No it's fine, really!" she tried to wave off. She was kinda weirded out, but she didn't want to be rude to someone she had just met.

"You don't have to lie, I won't be offended. He is a fairly strange individual, but then again, so is everyone."

She paused, stunned for a moment. How did he know what she was thinking?

"How did you-?"

"That's unimportant." he told her, a playful look on his face. "And we may have just met, but you can be honest with me. I always prefer the truth over lies." he then showed off a small smile, which made Lucy feel at ease for some reason... which was weird.

**"And as for you two...," **he said, turning his attention to the two men who were fighting, who flinched at his gaze, which at the moment lost all playfulness and appeared dead serious, matching his current tone,** "I don't care who started it his time, end it. I don't care when and where you have your little spats, just not in front of people we have just met, or do you _idioti_ want them to go home thinking that we're all uncultured brutes?"**

Lucy just stared, wide eyed as she saw this seemingly nice person tear into his friends, sounding like he was about to murder somebody. She didn't even catch that odd word he had used.

Natsu, on the other hand, was essentially having a PTSD flashback after seeing the brunette's face. They mostly involved red hair and strawberry cakes. 'Just like HER!'

Both men simply swallowed heavily, and looked away from each other. "...Sorry." they muttered.

And just like that, the brunette's appearance changed back to calm and composed. "Good", his voice had lost the serious edge, "And again, if you two need to have it out, then wait till we're alone." He spoke like a teacher instructing his students.

"Well I guess that guy wasn't Igneel after all." Happy said out of nowhere, drawing attention to himself.

"IS THAT A TALKING CAT?!" Lucy called out in surprise, having never seen anything like him before.

"Oh cool," the green man ,however, was taking it in surprising stride, "How're you doin' little guy?"

"How are you not surprised by this?!", Lucy yelled, really confused at this point, "We're looking at a talking cat!"

Just then a rustling sound came from the open collar of the brunette's jacket, "I heard 'talking cat'! I know what's going on! I wasn't sleeping!" a young voice had also sounded off, before a small shape stumbled out and landed headfirst on the ground. And to the surprise of Natsu, Lucy, and especially Happy, it was another talking cat!

"Owie..",He sat up to rub the little welt that formed on his head and from there they could make out all his features. He was around Happy's height, if a little shorter. His fur was the color of sand with a single black, pointed stripe in the center of his head between his pointed little ears which had small black tips. His underbelly was a lighter color and his big, round eyes were light green. He had a black triangular nose, a long tail with a black tip, and despite being a cat, he had no visible whiskers. Unlike Happy, he wore clothing that consisted of little black shorts that had mauve colored cat paw prints dotted all over, and a little slit in the back for his tail. And around his neck was a pink aviator scarf.

He then looked up and saw the three unknowns, one of them being another one of his species, and hurriedly stood up and dusted himself off before facing them. "I'm sorry you had to see that." he said with a polite bow. Only to be tackled to the floor by the blue one as he got him in a bear-hug.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE! I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FIND ANOTHER!" Happy yelled as he comically sobbed while nuzzling his face into the new feline's cheek. While he simply looked bewildered at the whole prospect. And if anything, slightly uncomfortable.

Fortunately for him, the green man had pulled him out, "As cute as that was to watch, I think you should give a guy some notice before ya glomp him like that." he said, snickering all the while, showing another feature of himself that made Lucy flinch at the sight.

All of his teeth were pointed, like some sort of shark. For Lucy, that simply made these newcomers an even more odd bunch to be around.

Natsu simply wondered if it was painful for him when he bit his tongue.

Getting her awareness back, Lucy finally had enough,"Okay, not for nothing, but who are you guys?" she asked.

At that, the man in the red coat snapped his fingers. "Oh how rude of us. We never introduced ourselves, did we? In all this confusion we nearly forgot." Without another word, the six of them lined up next to each other. "Pardon our inconsideration, and allow me to shed light on our identities."

He put his left arm behind his back, his right on his chest, and gave a slight bow. "I am Michael Armani, but my friends call me Mikey,"

"And this," he gestured to the tall brown-haired man, "Is Jordan Wickham,"

He didn't verbally introduce himself, but they noticed he discreetly posed with his arms crossed in an "x" shape across his waist. Again, another detail, but the newly introduced Michael continued.

He gestured to the blonde girl, "Ray Sangro,"

Again no verbal response. She also posed with her right hand on her hip, left arm kept straight, and head cocked to the right with her knees slightly bent.

To the greenette, "Tyson Mace,"

He had his left elbow resting on the back of his right hand, and his left fist on his cheek, legs bent to be almost in a sitting position.

To the silverette, "Curtis Lance,"

He had his body twisted slightly to his left, his right knee bent and left arm draped across his torso.

To the cat, "And last but certainly not least, we call this little fellow Skitt."

He was on his right knee with his arms splayed to the sides, and angled like a ramp.

"And it's a pleasure," Michael began, and then the trio realized the six of them moved from their previous positions and were all embracing and leaning on each other,**_ "To make your acquaintances." _**They all said in unison.

.

..

...

...

And they were met with silence.

The trio just stood there watching. No words could be formulated that could properly describe what they just saw. Except for four.

_'Who are these weirdos?'_ Lucy thought to herself.

* * *

_It may seem odd to many,_

_or even completely insane from a logical standpoint,_

_but the meeting of these nine souls_

_will alter the fate of this world forever._

* * *

**Nearby Restaurant: 10 Minutes Later**

With the sextet's little... 'performance' out of the way, Natsu and Happy's stomachs had reminded them how hungry they were. Choosing to repay them for their unintentional help, Lucy offered to buy them lunch. And choosing to be polite, she extended the offer over to the new group. At first they were adamant about it and Michael attempted to decline but...

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**Several Minutes Ago:**

"Oh_ no, we couldn't possibly do-**" GROOOOOOWL~**_

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_**..."Thank you for your generosity."**_

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Six growling stomachs had spoken for them. So they found a nice eatery that could seat the group of nine at a single table and settled in for a nice meal.

It was later that Lucy would come to regret her decision of inviting Natsu.

* * *

**Present, Inside:**

Seven of them expected to sit down, order some food, and enjoy a pleasant time and an enjoyable meal.

But right now, all they could do was stare wide-eyed at Natsu as he gobbled down a small mountain of edibles like no tomorrow.

_"Shanks fur da food Looshie, yer so nise."_ Natsu spoke with his mouth crammed full of food.

"Well, you're welcome... you can slow down, we're not in a hurry...and food is flying everywhere." Said blond had a nervous smile on her face. And Ray could attest to her statement. She had the unfortunate luck of sitting in front of him and that got her face splattered with what she assumed was a piece of meat. Her face turning a shade of green, she wiped it off. Seeing her face like that made Natsu's heart pang a little bit with guilt. He was confused for a moment but shrugged it off.

_'And there goes the money I saved at that old geezer's shop. Thankfully these other guys seem to know about portion control.'_ Lucy thought to her chagrin, as..._something _slimy hit her forehead.

"Seriously," Jordan turned around and stated,"you're eating like someone's gonna take it from you. Could you try slowing down just a tad?" Some of it almost landed in his hair. But their complaints and suggestions went ignored.

"So Lucy," Michael spoke, getting her attention, "What was that back there? You were acting like the rest of the crowd but when Natsu showed up you seemed to have snapped out of something."

"Meh, love at first sight does that to ya," Tyson piped up, swishing around a glass of water," You may have your eyes on one person, but then destiny puts you in front of that special someone, and it's like you're both the only people in the world."

Lucy's face instantly turned crimson, "THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL! I DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS GUY!" She shrieked.

Said guy remained oblivious and kept eating.

"Oh? Your expression says otherwise, look how red you've gotten.~" He chuckled teasingly.

"IT ISN'T LIKE THAT! THAT GUY WAS USING A CHARM SPELL!" Lucy rebutted.

This got Tyson to be quiet and the others to snap into attention, "Charm Spell?"

Sufficiently calm, Lucy explained, "Yeah, it was one of the rings on his fingers, he was using it on the ladies of the town essentially hypnotizing them into thinking they were in love with him. Charm Spells in general have the power to attract others to you against their will, but they've been banned for years, they're not even sold anymore."

The group shared a short look with each other, before Tyson snorted derisively, "Well, in my mind, he's either not confident enough to meet women the natural way, or he's got too much and has had one rejection too many," he leaned back in his seat, arms behind his head, "Either way, the sick feeling I got when I looked at him now has a reason for being."

"My thoughts exactly, Tyson," Curtis chimed in, his arms crossed and eyes closed, "Anyone who would use something so sinister on innocent, beautiful young ladies must be held accountable." He opened his eyes and raised a fist, "If I ever see his smug face again, I'll take that ring and smash it myself!" he declared angrily.

"More like keep it for yourself and do the same."

Curtis simply shot a glare at Jordan, who just sat there eating a sandwich like nothing happened. With Michael seated in front of him he couldn't take his righteous vengeance.

"He had to have gone through a lot of trouble to get that thing, like I said, what a creep." Lucy continued, looking displeased. But when she turned towards Natsu she had a smile. "I fell for his trick but I snapped out of it thanks to you barging in when you did, so thanks for that."

_"No prubl'm." _The pinkette responded with his gob full of food.

"I know I may not look like it, but I'm a wizard too, though I'm not a member of a guild yet." Lucy said, scratching her cheek sheepishly.

At the mention of the last word the seemed sextet snapped to attention again, but before they could ask, she had already begun to explain what guilds were.

Apparently they were organizations where wizards can go to share information and find work. And according to her you're not considered an actual wizard until you join a guild. The gang absorbed the info with much interest, whilst Natsu kept eating but kept his eyes on her. Their sweat dropped, however, when Lucy began to gush at how the guild she wanted to join was the most popular one in the world. Then she just began to ramble on about how they were featured regularly in a magazine called Sorcerer's Weekly.

Breaking from her fantasy, she waved apologetically, "I'm sorry, all this wizardry talk must sound like a bunch of gibberish to you guys, huh?"

"Are you callin' us stupid? Jeez, some manners you got, treatin' a bunch o' guy to lunch don't give ya the right to insult us ya know?" Tyson asked in an annoyed tone.

Hearing that, Lucy quickly changed her tone, fearing she insulted them, "W-What, no! I didn't-"

"Gahahaha! Come on I'm just screwin' with ya! Ya think ya woulda' learned from the first time." The greenette interrupted with a laugh.

All Lucy did was pout angrily, it's affect lessened by the embarrassed blush on her face. She shook it off and got back to her explanation, "But I'm telling you guys, I'm definitely going to join that guild someday, then I'll take all sorts of exciting jobs and make tons of money!" she finished excitedly.

Natsu mumbled out an affirmative, seemingly uninterested. "You certainly talk a lot." Happy said, a thought shared by several at the table.

Turning to the brunette in the red jacket, "So what brings you guys to Hargeon?

"No real reason. We're just a wayward group travelers going wherever the wind takes us. No actual destination in mind." He answered evenly, speaking for his group.

"...You're all homeless aren't you?" Lucy deadpanned.

The group flinched at the accusation, but then lowered their heads despondently. "We were trying' not to think about that fact..." Tyson muttered in despair.

Now Lucy just felt bad about it, "Uh, sorry about that, didn't mean to bring you guys down like that."

Michael simply waved her off, "It's fine. This is why we were so grateful for you treating us to a meal. Rest assured, one day we will repay your kindness."

The blonde girl blushed at the praise. And, not to take advantage of them, decided to use his words to get some more answers out of her new... she didn't know if she could exactly call them friends yet.

"Well... to start, how exactly did you know I wasn't telling the whole truth back at the plaza?" She inquired.

Michael gave a calculating smile at that, "You see... I have his little ability that just lets me know when people are telling the truth or not. I've yet to be incorrect about it. You know how your face gets shiny when you sweat? That is how I'm able to tell. Although, I'd be much more certain if I was able to taste it." He punctuated that by licking his lips.

...Incredibly creeped out by that action, Lucy desperately searched for a way to change the subject, and turned to Natsu and Happy, "...S-So, you guys came here to find somebody, right?" she asked the pair.

"We're looking for Igneel." Happy said while Natsu devoured a pizza.

"We heard a rumor that a salamander was passing through this town, but that turned out to be a huge bust." Natsu said disappointed.

"Yeah that guy didn't look like a salamander at all." Happy responded.

"No kidding, I bet that poser can't even breathe fire like a real dragon."

Everyone simply grew more confused at the duos interaction,"Wait, so this Igneel guy looks like a dragon?" Jordan wondered.

"Nah you got it all wrong. He's not a person, he's an actual dragon." Natsu explained.

"HUH?!" Obviously, the group was baffled by this.

"Wait-wait-wait, roll that back. Why would a dragon come to the middle of a small town like this? And even if that is true, wouldn't a giant fire-breathing reptile with wings be the center of attention instead of some pompous sideshow dickhead?" Jordan interjected.

Both Natsu and Happy looked as if they had something to counter that, but then shocked realization took over their faces.

"DON'T TELL US YOU JUST NOW THOUGHT OF THAT!" Lucy, Tyson, Curtis and Skitt were completely incredulous at anyone being that dumb, the remaining three simply applied palm to face.

After which, Lucy simply paid for the food and went on her way. "Well you guys can enjoy the rest of your meal, and who knows? maybe we'll meet again." The five newcomers gave her various farewells and thank yous, but as she was about to leave, she made the mistake of looking behind her, only to see that Natsu and Happy were bowing their heads in respect.

"Thanks for the food!" Natsu said, Happy following suit.

_'Well at least they know how to be polite. In their own way.'_ Michael noted this in his mind. "Truly though, thank you. And we should hope to repay you in the future." He said out loud.

"You're all embarrassing me!" Lucy exclaimed. "Let's just call it even since you've helped me out."

Though Natsu still felt that he needed to pay her back somehow, so humorously, he tried to give her 'Salamander's autograph, to which she vehemently denied, prompting a laugh from most of the group. Save for two.

As Lucy departed, Michael had a strange feeling resonating in the back of his head. Turning to the other silent one, Ray, their eyes met and a silent message was conveyed. Ray nodded and proceeded to follow the girl outside.

Nobody but Michael noticed her departure.

* * *

**Outside: Several Minutes Later**

We find Lucy, sitting on a bench reading Sorcerer Weekly, a popular magazine in Earthland. She comments and laughs about how much collateral damage the Fairy Tail guild caused on one of their recent missions, and says how she wished to join one day.

"What's that, you want to join Fairy Tail?"

Lucy turned to the owner of the voice, showing it was Salamander, who for some reason was climbing out of the bushes.

"I just came by and wanted to personally invite you onto my yacht tonight." He said with a charismatic smile, to which Lucy rejected.

"Your Charm Spell won't work on me! I'm aware of its use, so I'm unaffected!" Lucy pointed out.

Salamander was undeterred, "Just as I thought, I knew you were a wizard the moment I laid eyes on you. My invitation still stands though."

"You can forget it! I wouldn't be caught dead at a party thrown by a creep like you!" Lucy turned her back on the man.

"You wish to join Fairy Tail, do you not?" he asked. This got Lucy's attention again. He then had on his charismatic smile. "Tell me, have you ever heard of Salamander? One of Fairy Tail's wizards?"

"Wait, you're telling me you're _that_ Salamander?!" Lucy demanded.

"That's correct, and if you want to join I can put in a good word for you." He promised. "Just tell anyone about the charm spell."

"I won't say a word!" It was laughable at how fast Lucy changed her tune.

"Then I'll see you at the party tonight!" And with that, he activated his** Red Carpet** spell and took off.

At first, Lucy was angry at herself for falling to his natural charms, but then she pranced off, ecstatic that she'll get into Fairy Tail.

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

Once those two were out of sight, Ray came into view from behind one of the nearby trees. A dark and suspicious look in her eyes.

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**We cut to an old but well made map, detailing all of Fiore.**_

* * *

**Later That Night:**

"Man that was a good meal." "Aye."

After the small feast they had, Natsu and Happy were on a pathway overlooking most of the town. But they weren't alone.

"So why are you guys sticking around us again?" Natsu asked.

His question was directed towards the sextet, who had been accompanying the duo since they left the restaurant earlier.

"Well the six of us are new to the area, so by default, you know more than us, so you're our designated guide for the foreseeable future. Lucky you." Tyson commented cheekily.

Michael then stepped in front of him, "Though you don't have to guide us if you don't want to, it would be much appreciated."

"Nah, it's fine. I already decided I'd help you guys out." The pinkette waved them off.

Curtis raised an eyebrow at this, "Why the act of kindness?"

Natsu just shrugged, "Meh, I just think you guys are cool."

The sheer amount of honesty in that one statement floored the group, but they couldn't help but smile at willingness to help.

The silence was then broken by Happy as he pointed towards the bay, "Oh hey, didn't Salamander say he was throwing a party on a ship? Maybe that's the one."

And sure enough, when they all looked towards the direction he was pointing towards, they saw a large yacht floating just off of the coast, bright lights coming from the windows.

"Pfft, just proving' my point that the guy is a pompous asshole. Ya rent a yacht for an event, ya know how to plan a party. If ya actually _own_ one you've got too much money and too much time on your hands. When people see that you've got your own boat, they're gonna always beg you to take ya out on it, and then there goes all of your free time. The guy is a complete tool, plain and simple." Tyson stated derisively, then turned to Natsu, "Whaddya think Nats- HUH?!"

The pinkette was hunched over, looking as if he was going to reintroduce what he ate earlier, _"__...Gonna be sick~..."_ he muttered in a sick fashion.

"The hell is his problem?" Jordan asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, Natsu has terrible motion sickness, put him on any kind of vehicle, and he'll be on the verge of throwing up in seconds." Happy explained, as if he had rehearsed that line countless times.

"Yeah but just looking at one does this to him?"Curtis asked incredulously.

"It's just that bad."

"That sucks for a weakness, Pinky." Tyson snarked. "IT'S SALMON!" "Oh hey, he's all better!"

Everyone let out a little chuckle at the exchange, but then they overheard a conversation between some nearby women.

"Hey look! That's Salamander's ship right? Man~! I wish I could've gone to his party."

"Salamander?"

"You don't know him? He's that powerful mage that's currently in town right now. And he's part of the famous Fairy Tail guild!"

That last bit, got Natsu and Happy's attention.

And Natsu looked _TICKED_. So much so that it surprised the others.

"What, uh... what's going on with him?" Tyson asked Happy in a tentative manner, as if the wrong word would set the pinkette off.

"Oh, that's easy to explain, you see...,"

And as his feline companion explained their situation, Natsu continued to glare at Salamander's ship.

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_"...Fairy Tail..."_

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**A card of some kind appears, alongside a blacked out humanoid shape.**_

_**Stand Name [?]**_

_**Stand Master - ?**_

_**Power - ?**_

_**Speed - ?**_

_**Range - ?**_

_**Durability - ?**_

_**Precision - ?**_

_**Growth Potential - ?**_

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later:**

What followed in the minutes afterwards could only be described in one word. Or technically five if you count it as an acronym.

**FUBAR.**

A harrowing situation involving a flying cat and a mermaid with an attitude problem, resulted in Salamander's ship being washed up in the middle of town, a large portion of the town was soaked, and every girl attending the party now running off of it for dear life.

[...What? Do you expect me to retell everything that's happened? You've already read and/or watched this already. Nothing's changed so you should already know what's happened. Now then, let's get back to it.]

Right now, Lucy was running back towards the ship, complaining about someone being selfish, when she heard a familiar voice ring out.

"Ho-Ho-Ho-Holy shit!"

Looking over the railing she saw the sextet from before approaching. Their eyes wide whilst Tyson was applauding the scene before them.

"Ha Ha! We saw the whole thing, and that was awesome! Wish I could've totaled the stupid thing myself!" Tyson laughed uproariously at the scene.

"Are you alright up there Lucy?" Michael called out.

"I'm fine! Once the military catches wind of this, they'll show up to handle it!" She replied.

"AH! NATSU WAS STILL IN THERE!" Happy suddenly cried out, shocking everybody into attention. At once they all began to rush towards the remains of the ship.

"So Lucy, what happened on that ship?" Michael began to question her while they ran.

An angry look crossed her face, "That Salamander guy is a monster! He was planning on selling me and all the other girls as slaves!"

"WHAT?! That bastard! I'll rip his damn head off" An enraged Curtis yelled out.

"Yeah? Well be sure to save some for the rest of us..." Michael growled. In fact, they all had similar looks of anger on their faces.

They all rushed towards the wreckage and saw Natsu standing at the top, looking down on Salamander and his band of goons.

"Natsu! Are you okay!?" Lucy called out. But he ignored her and continued glaring at the the men below him.

"...So you claim to be a member of the Fairy Tail guild?" he growled out.

"Yeah? What about it? Men, get him!"

"Sir," at his command, some of the men had started rushing towards the pinkette, who was taking off the large red cloak he had on, showing underneath he was wearing a sleeveless, gold trimmed, black waistcoat left untucked from his belt, and a black cloth around his waist of similar design.

"Lemme get a good look at your face..."

"Natsu, watch out!" Lucy cried out as two of the men approached closer towards him.

"Oh don't worry about him Lucy." Happy commented from her shoulder.

"Yeah, turns out the guy you thought knew nothin' about magic, is actually a wizard as well." Tyson elaborated, shocking her.

And as the first two goons lunged at Natsu, he easily smacked them away with his right arm!

"My name is Natsu Dragneel, I'm a Fairy Tail wizard! And I've never seen you before!" He shouted angrily. His declaration shocked both Salamander and Lucy.

"You're kidding me! Natsu's a Fairy Tail wizard?!" Lucy asked/ shouted in disbelief, then she turned to the others, "Did you guys know about this?!"

"We only learned of it now, Happy told us earlier. Apparently he's one too." Michael answered.

Happy went, "Aye!", and took his knapsack off, showing a white symbol of some sort on his back. Lucy then looked towards Natsu and noticed a similar mark on his right shoulder, only his was red. She wasn't the only one who took notice of this.

"T-that mark! Bora, this guy's the real deal!" one of his goons informed him.

"You idiot! Don't call me that!' The now named 'Bora' shouted.

"Bora huh? I've heard of him," Happy began to inform the group, "Also known as 'Bora of Prominence'. He was a member of the guild 'Titan Nose' but was kicked out after using his magic to commit acts of theft."

"And my point about this guy being' utter scum is proven'." Tyson commented offhandedly.

At this point, Natsu had begun to stomp his way over to Bora and his men, you could feel the intensity he was giving off, "I don't know exactly what it is you're doing here buddy, and I don't care if you're a good guy, bad guy or whatever. I'm not letting you dirty the Fairy Tail guild's name!"

Bora was undeterred by his threat, "Hmph! And you think you can stop me!? You noisy brat! **Prominence Typhoon!"** He stretched his arms to his sides, and at his command a magic seal appeared in front of his chest, and from it a spiraling column of purple flames was launched in Natsu's direction, engulfing him.

"Natsu!" Lucy went to try and help him, but Michael and Happy blocked her. He gave the blue cat a look, and they nodded to each other. And at that, the sextet made their way to the other side of the ship.

Meanwhile, Bora was gloating over his apparently easy victory, "The bigger the talk, the weaker the man." He then turned to escape the area before the authorities arrived...

"Ugh, man this stuff tastes awful!"

...When a voice came out from the center of the blaze he left behind, and saw a humanoid shape moving within it.

"You sure you're a fire wizard? Because these flames just taste nasty!" And everyone was treated to the sight of the fire being sucked into Natsu's mouth!

Once all of the fire had vanished down his throat, Natsu wiped his mouth and let out a quiet belch, "Phew! Thanks for the grub, ya jerk."

"What the hell was that?! Who is this kid?!" another goon shouted in fear. "I've never seen magic like that before!" Lucy said just as amazed.

Happy looked on, an intimidating look in his eyes, "Fire magic won't work on Natsu~"

Natsu just inched closer towards his enemies, "Hope you guys are ready, 'cause now, I'm all fired up!" the look in his eyes made them all recoil.

"Oh screw this! We didn't sign up to fight a Fairy Tail mage! We're outta here!" One goon said as he started running, around a dozen of Bora's other men moved with him.

"Get back here you cowards!" Their now former employer yelled, the fury at their betrayal piling up upon all the other failures of today. But their escape was halted as the sextet appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

"Oh, you assholes ain't gettin' off the hook that easy!" Tyson wagged a finger at them disapprovingly.

"And just who are you guys supposed to be?!" The first runner shouted.

"Honestly?" Jordan started, "We're all just a bunch of good for nothings," he cracked his knuckles, "But that's why taking down scumbags like you is the perfect job for us." He finished with a smile, getting ready to fight. As did the rest.

"You bastards attempted to strip innocent women of their freedom, and sell them like they were simple property. THAT, is something we can't just take lying down." Curtis gave them an angry sneer.

"So remember our faces," Michael began, before all of them did another odd pose. They all stood slightly on their toes, leaned their upper bodies back slightly, looked them in the eye and pointed their right index fingers directly at them.

_**"For you shall be judged by us!"**_ They all said in unison.

.

..

...

...

...

The period of silence that followed was longer than before, as literally everyone stopped what they were doing and watched.

_'What is the matter with these guys?!'_ Lucy screamed in her head.

"That's it! I've had enough of this shit! Let's kill these idiots and get outta here already!" And with a roar, the deserters charged, splitting up into pairs to take all six down.

"Call us what you want," Curtis stated as one approached him, aiming to throw a punch. Only to be front kicked in the gut so hard, he coughed up a glob of spittle and was sent flying back a few feet. His partner stared wide eyed at the sight, giving the silver haired man time to leap and land a spinning kick to the side of his head, leading him to crash into the other, who stood up in time to catch him. But that proved to be futile as Curtis ran up, lifting both legs off the ground and caught them in a powerful dropkick, sending them crashing into a nearby wall, out cold. "We're still taking you all down!"

In Tyson's bout, he leaned back to dodge a punch thrown at him, but then grabbed the collar of his attacker's shirt and delivered a fierce headbutt to his face, breaking his nose. As he clutched his bleeding face in pain, his partner tried to attack from behind, but Tyson was able to grab the man and drove his knee into his stomach. He then grabbed his face and launched his knee into his chin, knocking him out and breaking some of his teeth loose. Tyson then proceeded to run to the first man and launched a soccer ball kick to his face, taking him down too. "Their makin' this too easy!" he laughed.

Jordan's opponents came at him at the same time. He blocked both of their punches, threw them off balance, and slammed their heads together. He uppercutted one with his right arm and drove his left elbow into the top of the others head. The fight was over in under half a minute. "Pathetic." He spat.

Ray had her back to the water as she continuously dodged and deflected all of her opponents attacks, until eventually she was able to trip them both, resulting in them falling into the water. She let out a quiet sigh of relief as she was done.

Skitt stood before his two comparatively massive foes, ready to duke it out. Only for them to laugh at him. "HA HA! A stupid cat?! Seriously?!"

Skitt slowly lowered his arms and looked at them confused, "You gotta problem with cats?" Then he blitzed towards them, punching one hard enough that it took him off his feet and sent him flying down the road. He threw a flurry of haymakers right into his face, before stomping downwards and slamming his head into the pavement. Surprised, his partner couldn't react in time as Skitt leaped up, spun around, and slammed his tail into his head, causing him to fall hard enough that it actually cracked the ground! But it didn't end there, as Skitt then grabbed his foot, and everyone witnessed the sight of a grown man being spun around by a tiny cat, before proceeding to throw him into a wall. "Hows THAT for stupid?" the feline asked rhetorically as he dusted off his paws.

Of the last two, Michael caught a punch that was thrown at him, and drove his left fist into the extended elbow, breaking it. As the man screamed in pain, Michael jabbed him twice in the side and threw him over his shoulder. The other attempted to kick him, but Michael reacted fast enough to catch his leg, and deliver a palm strike to his chin. Michael then swept his other leg out from underneath him, bringing them both to the ground. In one swift motion, he twisted his ankle. His screaming and the resulting 'CRACK' signified that it was broken. The brunette then stood up and dusted himself off like nothing happened.

And like that, all of the attempted runners were defeated. Happy was shouting 'How cool!' that a cat like him was able to do that, While Lucy looked on in awe, _'I can't read these guys at all! One moment they're acting like jokers and weirdos, and then they move like fighting machines! Just who are they!?' _Such thoughts ran through her mind.

Bora was shocked as well. Though those men were deserting him, they outnumbered the newcomers, yet they were beaten with such ease!

"Hope you didn't forget about me!" Natsu yelled, drawing all attention back to him as they saw his cheeks enlarge to an immense size,

**"Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

He put his hands out in front of him as if he were holding a trumpet, put his lips up against them, and out from his mouth came a massive plume of reddish orange fire that engulfed the group of men.

The resulting explosion could've been seen from the far outskirts of town.

When the smoke cleared, the goons were beaten and battered. But Bora had managed to escape on time, riding on his **Red Carpet** spell.

"B-Bora sir," the only conscious the spoke weakly, "I-I've seen him before...the pink hair... and a scarf with a scaly pattern...it's him... that guy... is the real...,"

"Salamander!" Lucy finished for him.

"Dammit! This all went to hell too fast! I've gotta get outta here now!" Bora quickly tried to fly off and escape.

"You're not going anywhere anywhere ya dirty poser!" Natsu ignited his hands and attempted to go after him, only to feel another hand touch his shoulder. He turned to see it was Jordan.

"Hold on a minute, Natsu," he spoke, keeping his eyes on something above them, "I know you're upset that this guy disgraced your guild by using their name, but I have to ask you to hold back."

"WHAT?! WHY?!" The pinkette shouted indignantly.

"Because Mikey's already got this handled." He replied, still not moving his gaze. Natsu merely huffed and then tried to find what the tall man was looking at.

Meanwhile, Bora was still moving to escape, he looked back to make sure he wasn't being followed "As long as I can get out of town before the guards get here I can still keep my freedom!"

"That's not happening!" a voice said from his front.

Turning forward again, he saw that Michael was standing on the ledge of a building he'd have to go over to escape.

Michael narrowed his eyes, staring down the blue haired man, "As stated before, you won't escape the consequences of your crimes so easily!" he spoke defiantly.

Lucy was in another state of disbelief, 'I couldn't see him through the smoke, but how did he get up there so fast?'

Bora was having none of it, "Yeah?! Try to stop me!** Red Shower!"** He summoned his magic seal, and a barrage of fireballs shot forth, aimed at the brunette, but he made no motion to counter it. And then they struck, engulfing the area in smoke."

"MICHAEL!" Happy and Lucy cried out, while Natsu just looked on enraged. The blonde girl turned to the other five as they just watched on with determined faces, "Why are you guys just standing there!? Your friend needs help!"

"Trust us, he doesn't." Ray spoke audibly for the first time, surprising the trio with how soft her voice was.

Bora was overlooking his handiwork with a sick smile, "This time for sure, I've got him!" But his words proceeded to die in his throat as the smoke cleared and showed the brunette was perfectly fine, not even his clothing was dirty. But as the smoke continued to part, something else was revealed. something that made Bora and three of the onlookers stare in surprise.

Right in front of Michael was a figure that floated off of the ground. It was mostly human in appearance, but that was as far as it could be called. It stood at around Michael's height and build, and had pure red skin with a yellow stripe going from it's bottom lip to it's chin. It's eyes were bright yellow, had a large orange ridge over both of them, resembling eyebrows, and each eye had a single black line run underneath them, resembling 'L' shapes. It also had a large mane of pure flames in place of hair that reached down to the middle of it's back, with two segments curling above the head, resembling horns. It's attire consisted of a dark blue coat much like Michael's but with much shorter sleeves and the inner color was purple, that was left open, revealing it's muscular torso, and a large heart shaped opening around the chest with yellow flame designs surrounding it. The sleeves had a zigzagging pattern cut into it which was yellow as well. On its hands it wore bright purple fingerless gloves with white studs in the knuckles, and a pink heart on the backs of the hand. On its legs it wore dark blue pants with pink hearts on the knees, and purple boots.

And right now, it had its arms crossed in front of it, revealing that it had blocked the attack.

"What's that thing!?" Bora and Natsu shouted. Gone was the pinkette's anger, all that remained was surprise, and a slight desire to eat the things hair.

"What kinda magic is that!?" Lucy directed that question to Happy.

"I don't know! I've never seen anything like it!" Happy answered, just as surprised.

"It ain't magic." Tyson answered simply, causing the three to look towards him in disbelief. "What we're looking' at right now is a manifestation of Mikey's life energy and fightin' spirit. And because they always stand at the ready to assist their wielder, they're known," he paused to point dramatically," as Stands!"

.

.

.

.

"...That's kinda on the nose isn't it?" Happy asked.

"After all I just said THAT'S your reaction?! Besides, I didn't come up with it!" Tyson answered back annoyed. But then a look of shock and disbelief crossed his face, and the faces of his friends, "Wait you can see it?!"

A little stunned, Lucy tentatively asked, "Are we not supposed to?"

"Normally only other people with Stands can see them! So what's your excuse?!" Jordan grilled them.

As that conversation was happening, Michael and Bora continued to stare each other down. If the brunette was surprised at the revelation that his opponent could see his Stand, he didn't let it show.

"Grrr, I don't care what sort of powers you have, you won't get in my way! **Prominence Whip!" **Raising his arm, a series of purple fire tendrils were launched at Michael, who still stood impassively, but his Stand moved for him. As the attack grew close enough the spirit's arms lashed out at an incredible speed, and grabbed every tendril, halting their movements.

"What?!" Bora attempted to pull back, but it was like his hands were stuck in place. In fact, it even seemed like the fire in his attack had frozen in place, "I-I can't disengage my own spell! What is this?!"

The others had a similar question, which Jordan answered, "That's one of** [Burner Heart's] **abilities. While it can produce its own fire, it can also grab onto fire made from another source and while it has contact, the fire acts as if it were a solid object."

**"[Burner Heart]?"** the trio inquired.

Jordan merely shrugged, "It is a part of him, it's only right that he gives it a name that suits it."

Still holding Bora's attack, and him in it's grasp, **[Burner Heart] **then swung him into the street below, cratering it. Michael then proceeded to jump down from the building,** [Burner Heart] **momentarily vanishing as it's legs overshadowed his own to cushion the fall. He landed without issue and even dramatically pushed the coattails of his jacket out of the way.

_'So that's how! He did that to jump to the roof!' _Lucy realized.

As Bora crawled out of the crater and onto his hands and knees, he witnessed Michael looking down on him some feet away,** [Burner Heart] **reappearing by his side.

"You know, at first I had to agree with my friend about you," He began, "at first I thought you were some arrogant windbag who just showed off for anyone who bothered to watch," his glare intensified, "but I have to disagree, because now? All I see in front of me is a piece of utter dog shit." He spat, "What was that you said earlier? 'The bigger the talk, the weaker the man?'" he mocked.

At that moment, Bora snapped, "I WILL KILL YOU!" He brought his arms in front of him, gathering all the magic energy he had left into a single point and shouted, **"HELL PROMINENCE!" **and released the energy into a large, long and powerful laser-like beam. Instead of running away like most people would, Michael charged forward, **[Burner Heart] **in front of him, blocking the attack, as the beam continued past them and started to tear apart other buildings in town.

Bora continued to pour energy into the attack, the only thing he cared about was incinerating the little bastard who made a fool out of him. Only for a muscular red arm to grab him by the throat, forcing him to cease his attack, revealing Michael and his Stand no worse for wear.

**[Burner Heart] **raised the man as high as it could, before slamming him into the ground so hard he bounced. While he was in mid-air, the Stand tightly curled it's fists, before unleashing a devastating attack.

_**"CUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUOCUO,"**_

It's fists were like blurs, striking everywhere it could reach on Bora's body, hitting so hard it left miniature craters with every impact, and shouting that odd sound with every strike. Before winding up one last big punch.

_**"CUORE!"**_

Its right fist collided with Bora's face, sending him rocketing away, actually smashing through a building, before colliding with the bell hung above the town church. Symbolizing the fight was over.

**[Burner Heart] **vanished, leaving Michael alone as he turned around and walked away muttering, **"...Bastardo."**

* * *

**Name: Bora of Prominence aka "Phony Salamander"**

**Magic: Fire**

**Status: RETIRED!**

* * *

Michael walked back to the group, his friends congratulated him for his victory, while the other gaped at what they saw.

"That was awesome!" "Aye!" Natsu and Happy were the first to snap out of their trance.

"I'll admit, I've never seen anything like that before, but..." Lucy began, "DID YOU HAVE TO GO OVERBOARD?! MOST OF THE PORT HAS BEEN DESTROYED!" "Aye!" "STOP SAYING AYE!"

It's true, the fight did some substantial damage, one third of everything was on fire, another was soaking wet, and the other was pure rubble. Not a pretty sight overall.

"...I don't think you have a right to point fingers. At worst I demolished two walls and made a few potholes, at least half of this was technically your fault." Michael answered his tone plain, but also almost childish.

Lucy wanted to retort, but he technically wasn't wrong.

The clanking of metal suddenly filled the air, and they all looked down the road and saw a platoon of armored men with spears and shields marching towards them.

"The army?!" Lucy's question would go unanswered as Natsu suddenly grabbed her hand and took off running in the opposite direction, her body flailing behind him like a windsock. "Crap! We gotta get outta here!"

"Hey! Wait for us!" Tyson shouted before he and the others dashed after them. What had caught Skitt's attention was the fact that Happy was FLYING. As in he sprouted wings and took off.

"Wait you can fly?!" he asked.

"Can't you?" Happy questioned right back.

"No! This is so not fair!" Skitt whined.

"Why are you dragging me along!?" Lucy asked as she finally got back on the ground.

"I mean, you wanna join our guild right?!" Natsu shouted back as he ran, stunning the blonde. He then looked over to see the sextet running alongside them, "And you guys can join too if ya want!" A big grin came onto his face, "So let's go!"

Lucy gave off a big smile to match his, "Okay!" she cheered.

Michael smiled as well and looked over to his friends, "I guess this is what we're doing now! Are you all with me!?"

"RIGHT!" they shouted out, matching everyone's happy look.

And so the group of nine continued to run from the approaching army, laughing the whole way.

This is the start of a whole new story. One that will go down in legend.

This is the start of the most Bizarre Tale ever.

* * *

**AN: And so ends the first chapter of my first story! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I loved JJBA and Fairy Tail, and I've been thinking over the characters for years before cranking this out.**

**I know "Fairy Tail" gets a lot of hate, I won't lie and call it perfect when it obviously isn't, but it was the series that got me into anime, and I'll stand by it forever.**

**So see you whenever I get the next chapter out, hopefully not too long.**

**But first!...**

* * *

**Some Distance Away From Hargeon:**

The group had stopped to rest in the forest after all of the running they did. Ray, Jordan, Curtis, Tyson, and Skitt were fast asleep, leaning on trees while the others kept watch.

"So if we keep moving after sunrise, we can catch a train that will take us to Magnolia, where Fairy Tail is located." Lucy explained while looking at a map. Natsu looked ready to vomit again at the mention of trains but he was ignored.

"So anyway Michael-' she began.

"Mikey." He politely interrupted.

Lucy looked at him confused, but he elaborated, "Like I said, my friends can call me Mikey. We just spent a few hours running from the authorities, if that doesn't make us friends I don't know what to do."

"Okay then, Mikey, I just wanted to ask more questions about that spirit thing you used earlier."

"My Stand you mean? Well those will inevitably be questions with long answers, best told when there's sunlight. And I'm not the only one you should ask."

"What do you mean?"

"Well think about it, if my friends told you that only people with Stands could see them..." he trailed off for her.

"Wait, you mean..."

"That's correct," he shot a look over to his friends sleeping on the side, "Each of them has a Stand of their own."

Unseen by themselves, the resting individuals emitted faint auras. Ray's was yellow, Tyson's was light blue, Jordan's was an earthy green, Curtis' was a snowy white, and Skitt's was bright pink.

_Earthland will never be the same again..._

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**The card from earlier appears, only now, the blacked out shape was revealed to be [Burner Heart].**_

_**Stand Name [Burner Heart]**_

_**Classification: Natural Humanoid**_

_**Type: Close Range**_

_**Stand Master - Michael "Mikey" Armani**_

_**Power - A**_

_**Speed - A**_

_**Range - C**_

_**Durability - B**_

_**Precision - A**_

_**Growth Potential - A**_

_**Reference: "Burning Heart" by Vandenberg**_

_**Ability: Fire Hold**_

_**[Burner Heart] has the ability to grasp outside sources of fire and hold them as if they were solid objects, either to use in attacks or to block another. Any thing in contact with the flames is pulled along with them.**_

* * *

_**AN: See ya in 2020! **_

_**／|_**_

_**〈 To BE CONTINUED…**_

_**＼|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣**_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Apologies for the wait! Time for a new chapter. I'm just gonna keep pumping these out and let my story and work speak for itself. I felt like it was a good idea to introduce my OC's as secondary characters, but now we delve into their central backstory.**

**To those who commented, thank you for your kind words and for giving me a chance. I hope I don't disappoint. And to elaborate, I'll be using parts from the manga and anime of FT, depending on what I think fits the situation.**

**I only own my OC's, JoJo and Fairy Tail are not mine. Please comment and review, constructive criticism is appreciated. Please don't flame.**

* * *

_Previously on The Most Bizarre Tail:_

_We are introduced to Lucy, a young wizard with dreams of joining the most popular guild in Earthland, Fairy Tail._

_And that started by meeting an odd young man with pink hair named Natsu and his talking cat Happy, and five even weirder men and THEIR talking cat! What're the odds?_

_They seemed like the type of people your parents tell you not to associate yourself with, but when Lucy got into trouble with a gang of human-traffickers led by an ex-guild wizard named Bora, they all showed exactly what they were capable of when they wiped out the entire gang in no time! Natsu and Happy even revealed that they were members of the Fairy Tail guild!_

_Not only that, but the apparent 'boss' of the six newcomers, Michael, summoned a powerful spirit-like being one of his friends referred to as a Stand, and sent Bora flying!_

_Afterwards, they fled the approaching military forces, after (unintentionally) leveling the town. On the bright side, Natsu extended an offer for all of them to join Fairy Tail! Which they all gladly accepted._

_Who are these mysterious individuals?_

_Why are they here?_

_And what are these Stand beings they apparently have the ability to summon?_

_All questions will be answered...soon..._

* * *

_**Chapter 2: The Equally Bizarre Exposition**_

**Era 1 P.M.**

We enter the scene on a large town, built around a high, rocky mountain. Laying atop the mountain was a large, regal looking building, bearing great resemblance to a castle.

This structure is the headquarters of the Magic Council, the highest authority in the world of magic.

And right now within it's chambers, a meeting of its members was occurring.

"Those Fairy Tail fools have done it again!" a male voice declared in anger.

Nine individuals, most of them being of advanced age, were standing across from each other on a large magic circle. The topic of discussion was a certain group of rogues trashing the port of a certain town.

"They destroyed half of a port this time! Can you believe that?!"

"Honestly now! I won't be surprised if they wreck an entire town one day!"

"Don't say that, you might jinx us!"

One of the younger members of the council could only smile. He was a young adult with blue hair and a red tattoo above and under his right eye. He was dressed in elegant yet simple robes; consisting of a long white frock-coat with black stripes across the edges and on the upper part of the arms, a decorated standing collar, large straps connected to decorated buckles closing the inducement on the front over a dark shirt, and matching pants and shoes. He also sported a ring on his right middle finger.

This man's name is Siegrain. He let out a chuckle as he read the report they were given.

"I'm rather fond of idiots like them." he joked.

"Oh shut up Siegrain!" one of the older council members shouted. He was a tall, gray-haired elderly man with a considerably long beard, as well as a mustache. He has pointy ears and for some reason he kept his right eye closed. He wore multiple layers of robes, and on top of his head he wears a small bat-shaped ornament.

This irate gentleman is Org.

"Fools they may be, but it doesn't change the fact that they are a capable bunch. That's why we don't really know what to do." a more calm voice stated.

He was a very short, old man with thick light-brown eyebrows and a small toothbrush mustache that reached halfway to his mouth. He wore a brown long sleeve shirt with black vertical stripes and a black three-spiked hat.

This was Yajima, a friend of Fairy Tail.

"Yes, they've proven to be quite a tricky subject." Org agreed in a disgruntled manner.

"I say leave them be," Siegrain commented, to the ire of most of his council associates, "The world wouldn't be as fun if we didn't have idiots like them running around."

The rest of the council could only sigh, already exasperated at Siegrain. As whimsical as he proves to be sometimes they wouldn't be surprised if he actually joined the group that's given them all such headaches.

"In any case," Org began, "Let's return to the matter at hand." Raising his left hand and projecting a bit of magic, a screen appeared in front of all the council members. On it was a picture of Bora and a transcript of some kind."Next on the agenda pertains to the Hargeon incident, where our knights apprehended the criminal Bora, who, after many witness testimonies, we've arrested long with his subordinates on charges of attempted kidnapping and human trafficking."

"I don't understand," A female voice spoke this time. She was a beautiful, pale-skinned young woman with a rather voluptuous figure. She had dark purple hair, red eyes and full lips. She wore a white kimono with a single sleeve and a collar around her neck. Her full name is Ultear Milkovich, she was closest to Siegrain. You wouldn't call them friends, but they talked to each other a lot. "We already closed the matter on him so why are we bringing it up again?"

'It isn't his crime specifically, it's the condition he was found in. He was badly injured, with dozens of fist imprints all over his body, several broken bones, a rather bad concussion, some internal bleeding, and multiple first and second degree burns, which is odd considering he is a fire mage." Org recited, a grim look on his face.

The rest of the council was stunned as they read the list of injuries the man had sustained, even Siegrain had quirked an eyebrow, more surprised at the news. The burns pointed to one culprit in their eyes.

"Salamander has been known to go overboard sometimes, but it is quite out of character for him to injure his opponents so severely." Yajima stated. He knew Natsu, he was a hothead but he never tried to outright brutalize his foes.

"Those same eyewitnesses reported that it wasn't Mr. Dragneel. Instead, they spoke of a lone mage commanding some sort of powerful fire spirit. This is further supported by what Bora uttered to the knight leading the platoon as he was apprehended," Org motioned his screen closer to his face, "Quoting his words exactly, he said, 'Please keep the scary fire ghost away from me. Please, oh please, for the love of God.' End quote."

.

..

...

"...I ... honestly don't know how to respond to that." Siegrain spoke after a long period of silence as the other council members... digested what they had just heard. They had incredulous looks on their faces, not one hundred percent believing what they just heard from the second seat of the council.

"I am aware of what you are all thinking," Org continued, "I was in disbelief as well. I assumed his injuries had a severe effect on his brain, but the reports clearly state that what he saw was real." He adopts a serious expression, and the rest follow suit. "Whatever the case might be, we have an unidentified mage, wielding powerful and unidentified magic, who has now escaped with Fairy Tail. I motion that we make it a priority to find him, and question his motives. All for?"

**"Seconded!" **Eight voices rang out.

"All opposed?"

"..."

"Then the motion is carried. Rest assured, we will find this man..."

* * *

_...and we will get our answers."_

**Magnolia Town: Around the same time**

_(We fade in to a close up of Michael's face as he was looking up at something)_

The group of nine had arrived in the town of Magnolia, a proud merchant city with a population of 60,000 inhabitants. It has been prosperous in terms of magic since the ancient era. Such reputation was supported by the fact that the town houses the strongest Guild in Fiore, and that guild is-

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

Apart from Happy and Natsu, the whole group stood outside and gazed upon the official guild building with varying levels of awe.

It was an imposing three-floored building that held several styles in the design. It took on a shape reminiscent of a pagoda, with each floor being smaller than the one below it and sitting on the latter's roof. The roofs also bore great resemblance to those of real pagoda, consisting of extremely long, arched tiles lined up one after the other and possessing simple curved protrusions jutting upwards on the building's angles. On the highest roof, topping the summit of the building, sat a simple, round and pointed dome, highly reminiscent of those seen on Arabian buildings, which bore a flag on its point. The roof below the one with the dome, the middle one, housed a large banner with Fairy Tail's symbol on it, held up by a pair of vertical poles. The building's large entrance was again Arabian in design, with its shape being reminiscent of that of the dome on the summit, and above it was the guild's name, topped by a protruding, stylized heart shape and flanked by a pair of carved fairies. Stylized heart shapes were also visible on the frames of the numerous, large pentagonal windows located on each floor, with the top floor housing smaller, arched windows partially covered by banners.

"Wow~" Ray, Skitt and Lucy uttered, the former in more of a whisper.

"(Whistle)! Gotta say, this place looks awesome!" Tyson loudly complimented. The others silently agreed, still marveling over the beautiful building.

"That's Fairy Tail for ya!" Happy chimed.

"Well no point in just standing around, let's go!" Natsu declared and marched towards the door. The group followed eagerly.

_'So this is it. This will be our new home. Hopefully nothing too bizarre happens. But with our luck that's wishful thinking at best.'_ Michael thought but pressed forward.

The new leg of their journey starts now.

* * *

**(Arc 1 Opening)**

**Play [Kekkai Sensen/ Blood Blockade Battlefront] Opening 1, "Hello World!" English Cover by [TYER]. Original by "Bump of Chicken"**

_**Looking past the open gate, twisted face, the heated afternoon**_

_**To see that yesterday's repeating, written here, the proof existing**_

(We see Magnolia in the middle of the night, the Fairy Tail guild hall in the distance.)

(The sun slowly begins to rise, turning the formerly night sky into a beautiful gradient of orange and lavender.)

_**Brand new day, I've got to say, still I'm bound to losing my way**_

_**Keep believing, relying, on empty vows and meanings**_

(The sun rises higher, causing a beautiful shine to fill the screen as night transitions to day.)

(Abruptly, the screen goes white, and then becomes somewhat grainy as it changes to a group photo of the sextet, posing and smiling. We zoom out to see it is one in a large series of photos containing different members of Fairy Tail. All of them were grouped together and arranged to resemble the guild symbol. The story title was written across it in a bold, graffiti font.)

_**Times I found myself retreating, somehow my fate decides what I'm to do**_

_**I'd do it well to keep on living, thinking back, it was embarrassing**_

(We see the six are walking through the streets of Magnolia, taking in all the sights and sampling the culture. Apparently unseen by everyone else, they each glow with the same aura from the first chapter, with Michael's being red.)

(We then change to the end of that day, where the picture was taken in a public park. Onlookers gave them odd stares for their posing, but they were paid no heed.)

_**Even if I can't recall, if I just try, I know I'll find it here**_

(A series of photos show their morning routine in the bathroom. Washing the sleep out of their eyes, fixing up their hair/fur, and brushing their teeth. Tyson got looked at weirdly for using a filing tool.)

(Another series shows them enjoying breakfast. Tyson, Ray, Skitt and Michael were speaking animatedly with each other, but Curtis and Jordan started yelling at each other for some reason or another, until Michael glared at them. They look away, a bit of fear in their eyes. The other three sigh in exasperation.)

_**If I let go, you will know, why every breath I'd hold**_

(They now walk towards the guild, smiles and confidence present on their faces.)

_**Look up into the sky, you with darkness in your eyes**_

_**It's because you're standing here, that this light is never ending**_

(We then see the shadow of a woman walking down the same path, carrying a large object above her with a single hand. Before we can see her face, it transitions to Michael's as he stares ahead, determination etched into his features.)

_**With the colors I have chosen, the world surrounds my empty self**_

_**With all the scars I've carried to escape this worthless hell**_

(The six now stand in a circle, watching in awe as the Fairy Tail wizards displayed their incredible abilities. Natsu breathing fire, Lucy summoning her spirits, and the various different spells used by its many other mages.)

(It then transitions to them standing on a pillar which seemed to overlook all of Fiore.)

_**In the middle, you're the hero, the world bestows upon us all**_

(We catch a glimpse of a man holding a giant scythe, floating above a group of unsavory characters. Then quickly transitioning to the scene of a large, monstrous shadow with the figure of a man standing before it. The man turns around to show he is wearing a demonic mask over his face.)

_**Before the curtain calls, you're on the stage until the fall**_

(A shadow of a woman stands atop a stone pillar. She spread her arms out and a flock of some sort of bird is summoned that rush towards the screen.)

**_What can I do? Pretending there's no pothole inside me_**

(There is a close up of Michael's fist as he clenches it in determination.)

**_Hello, hey there, I am waiting_**

(The camera snaps to his upper half as he poses. His left arm raised to shoulder height, elbow bent, and palm facing upwards. His right arm bent in front of him with his palm facing forward. **[Burner Heart]** appeared next to him, fists raised and ready to fight. The rest of his team adopted various poses as well, but their Stands were not revealed yet.)

_**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**_

(The camera pans out to reveal the rest of Fairy Tail behind them)

(Shadows of the team zoom by as we close in on Michael. He brings his right arm up showing the Fairy Tail symbol on his palm, which overtakes the screen)

**The Most Bizarre Tail**

* * *

**Fairy Tail Guildhall: Inside**

The inside of the building seemed like a party.

People of all shapes and sizes were eating, drinking, and making merry. Some simply lounged around at the tables or the bar and spoke with each other. Others were looking at the posters pinned to a bulletin board on the wall.

Yes, this was Fairy Tail. Though they may be a group of rogues and outcast, they were as close as any blood family could be. Some would say they were even closer.

"Hey Mira! Could we get three more beers over here please?" One man in the crowd called out.

"Coming right up~!" A female voice responded cheerily,

The lady in question was quite beautiful. She is a slim young woman of below average height. She has long, white hair which curls slightly at the ends, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her chest; her hairstyle's most distinctive trait is a short, upward ponytail obtained by gathering and tying the hair that would normally cover her forehead. She has large blue eyes, creamy skin, and a curvy, voluptuous body, with large breasts. She wore a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. The chest is adorned by a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. She also wears high-heeled shoes that match her dress, and accessorizes with a small chain necklace with a blue oval gem attached to it, and a bracelet made of white flowers circling her right wrist.

This is Mira, full name, Mirajane Strauss. She's the Guild's head waitress, and a pin-up model for Sorcerer Weekly.

(Fun Fact: Some people who've seen her modeling photos have gone comatose from severe nasal hemorrhaging!)

"Oh Mira~!" a different male called out.

'Yes, how can I help you Wakaba?" Mira responded, already knowing what was going to be asked.

The man in question, Wakaba Mine, is one of the guild veterans. He is a man of average height, distinguishable by his brown hair, which is kept in an ostentatious pompadour-like style that protrudes frontwards from the top of his head in a large, curly and fluffy tuft. His eyes seemed to be squinted or at least semi-open. His outfit consisted of a loose, light green shirt decorated with many motifs of stylized dark-colored flowers with five petals, a pair of pants cut down below his knees held up by a belt, and sandals held up by striped bands. Lastly, he was smoking a pipe.

(Fun Fact: His magic makes him immune to lung cancer! Wouldn't that be convenient?)

He breathed out puffs of smoke which then began to take the shape of hearts.

"Hows about you and I go out on a date sometime, whaddya say?" He asked flirtatiously.

Mira sighed, and responded, "But Wakaba," **_(POOF!) _**and in a puff of smoke, Mirajane was transformed into a plump woman with brown hair, "Aren't you a married man~?" she said, wagging a finger.

"GAH, DON'T TURN INTO MY WIFE!"

Everybody had a laugh at Wakaba screaming as Mira changed back. Families pulled jokes on each other all the time, Wakaba will be fine.

Everything was loud, but peaceful, then-

_**BAM!**_

"WE'RE HOME!"

"Home!"

_A dramatic entry was made!_

"Natsu! Happy!"

"Hey guys!"

"Welcome back."

A cacophony of greetings came from everybody in the guild. But they all did take notice of the new faces at the entrance, who continued to admire the interior of the building.

"Man, this place is sweet!" Tyson observed.

"It's so big! What do you think Curtis?" Skitt asked, riding on the man's shoulder.

"Yeah... big~." Curtis responded, sounding like a dope. Skitt turned towards him and saw he wasn't looking at the building. He followed his line of sight and saw that he was staring at a trio of rather attractive female patrons enjoying a drink. You have two guesses as to what he was staring at.

"Hey Natsu," one face in the crowd began. He had brown hair and buck teeth, he went by Krov, "You really went overboard this time! Heard about Hargeon in the newspa-"

**_SLAM!_**

"WAGUH!"

He was cut off as Natsu dashed over and sent a flying kick to his face! All the newcomers paused at that.

"THE WHAT?!"

"WHY?!" were some of what they said.

"You asshole! That info about Salamander was fake you liar!" he yelled at Krov.

Krov stood right back up, "I didn't lie about anything! I just told you a rumor I heard!"

The seven newcomers just stared, not entirely understanding what was happening. Everyone else just looked on like it was a typical event. The two then got into a scuffle, which resulted in Krov being thrown into a crowd of people, sending all of them flying.

"Okay Natsu, I think that's enough-" Before Happy could placate his partner, another bystander landed on him.

And then all hell broke loose. The festive atmosphere was shattered and became an all out brawl. Punches were thrown, objects were smashed, and order was tossed out the window.

Michael, Ray, and Skitt just stood there, mouth agape as pandemonium ensued.

"That... escalated really fast. There was no warning, this just... happened." Ray commented.

Tyson smiled, "I know!" he then leaned back to dodge a thrown stool, "I love this place already!"

"I'm finally here..." Lucy whispered excitedly, seemingly just ignoring the chaos right in front of her, "I'm actually at Fairy Tail!"

"OH? Natsu's back?!" another male voice yelled. The group turned to him, and the first thing they noticed-

"EXHIBITIONIST!" Ray screamed as Tyson covered her eyes.

-was that he was wearing nothing but his boxers. Ignoring that, he had spiky black hair, dark blue eyes, and a toned, muscular body. He also had a necklace, which resembles a sword with a stone in it. His Fairy Tail mark was dark blue and located on his right pectoral. This young man is Gray Fullbuster.

(Fun Fact: He's good at what he does, but his bad habit of taking his clothes off at inappropriate times is gonna get him on the sex-offender registry. And he'll honestly be ignorant as to why.)

"It's time to settle things from our last fight, Flame-Brain!" he declared as he marched towards the center of the fight.

"Gray, your clothes are gone again." a woman said.

"WHAT?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

The group turned to her while Gray was cursing the loss of his clothes. Speaking of which, they noted she almost wore as little as he did.

She is a fairly tall and slim tanned-skinned young woman. She had wavy brown hair that went to the middle of her back. Two shoulder-length strands of hair frame her face, with the left one starting from a prominent, high fringe. She has large violet eyes, visibly long eyelashes, and a sharp face. She possesses a very voluptuous figure, with large breasts and curvy hips. Her shapely upper body was left largely exposed with a light blue bikini top which features a camouflage pattern, a pair of capri pants, with two bands hanging from each leg, a light belt covered in heart motifs loosely tied around the waist, and a pair of high-heeled sandals. She also had a pair of metal bracelets adorning her biceps, bearing an incision composed of many "A"s, and three simple, round metal bracelets on her right wrist. She had the Fairy Tail mark in black, and it was located on the lower left part of her abdomen, right above her hips.

This lovely lady is Cana Alberona, Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker.

(Fun Fact: People secretly make bets as to whether or not she has alcohol in her veins instead of blood.)

Her outfit made Ray blush and look away, and Curtis had steam coming from his nostrils.

Cana scoffed at the sight of the brawl, "This is why I can't stand any of the men here. They've all got no class." Right after that, she picked up a barrel of alcohol bigger than her whole body and chugged it down like it was nothing! A feat which stunned them all.

"Heh, I'd like to show her what class I'm in, know what I'm sayin'?" Tyson vulgarly joked as he lightly elbowed Jordan, who rolled his eyes at the greenette.

"Tyson, what do I always tell you about respecting women?" Michael asked sternly, having overheard his friend.

He jumped at that, "I, uh, that it... only stops bein' applicable when they're tryin' to kill ya?" Tyson stuttered, sweating a bit.

Michael seemed to accept the answer and let the matter rest. Tyson breathed easier at that.

"HEY! NATSU! FIGHT ME!" Gray yelled, as he walked towards the dragon slayer.

"PUT YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON FIRST!" Natsu yelled back.

"What rubbish," a voice from behind them said. They turned around, but then all of them, even Jordan had the look upwards.

He was a giant of a man with tan colored skin. He had long white hair kept styled upwards in long, wavy spikes, dark blue eyes with no visible brows, and a rectangular, elongated face with a stitched scar running down its right side, crossing his right eye. He had a black Fairy Tail stamp located on the left part of his neck. He wore a dark blue jacket with purplish blue inners, held closed on the front by a line of large buttons, with similar buttons on the sleeves' back and the zip located on the high collar left open. He completed his look with loose pants matching his jacket, held up by a simple belt, and traditional Japanese geta sandals, held in place by bands colored the same as his jacket's inners.

This goliath is Elfman Strauss, brother to Mirajane. His philosophy is that men should solve their problems with their fists.

(Fun Fact: Not only are he and Mira related, he's the younger brother! By one year! I didn't believe it the first time either.)

"Arguing and squabbling in the middle of the day. You're all not little kids you know." he admonished.

"Hey Jordan, is it just me, or does he kinda sound like you?" Tyson questioned.

"I don't hear it." he denied.

The man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

"Real men fight with their fists, not their words!" Elfman exclaimed, as he cracked his knuckles and prepared to get in on the fight.

"BUTT OUT ELFMAN!" Natsu and Gray yelled, as they punched Elfman clear across the guild. Elfman crashed into the far wall, and immediately fell unconscious.

"GAHAHA! One punch! What a mook!" Tyson pointed and laughed. All that talk just to be owned so easily. Everyone else just looked on in shock.

"Ugh, it's so noisy in here," another voice complained, _'Is this seriously happening again?'_ Lucy thought exasperatedly, before she and the others turned to the voice, and Lucy let out a light gasp.

He was a young man of average height with delicate facial features and orange hair kept in a mildly short, spiky cut, with spiky strands covering his forehead, and other, longer ones jutting upwards from the top of his head. He had hazel eyes covered by a pair of azure-tinted sunglasses with thin frames, and his left ear is adorned by three earrings: two studs and a flower-shaped earring. He wore a green coat with a wide collar, complete with prominent, spiky, brownish-white fur trimming lining the hood, over a light red shirt covered in many flower-like motifs, black pants and whitish sneakers, each adorned by a pair of light green stripes. He also had a woman in each arm, but I don't think that's part of his normal attire.

Anyways, his name is Loke, but it's pronounced 'Loki'. He's ranks pretty high on a list of "most desired wizard bachelors."

(Fun Fact: Those are Girlfriend 37 and Girlfriend 38 in his arms. Their parents sucked at names.)

"It's Loke! Sorcerer Weekly listed him as the top ranked "Mage You Want as Your Boyfriend"! Lucy whispered excitedly.

"That's an ostentatious title..." Skitt commented. But when a drinking glass came flying from nowhere and smacked Loke in the forehead, he stood up with a huff and marched over to the brawl.

"I'm joining the fight, to protect you lovely ladies~." He flashed his lady friends a wink.

"Good luck Loke~." they both replied, completely smitten.

"Okay now that guy sounds like Curtis." Tyson stated.

"What? No he doesn't." Curtis denied.

"No, this time I hear it. They both have a brain working overtime trying to think up cheesy pick-up lines." Jordan joked, which got him kicked in the face by his target, flinging him into the brawl.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU POINTY HEAD!" Curtis roared as he chased after him to finish the job. They both vanished into the chaos.

"Ugh... what am I going to do with them?" Michael asked rhetorically as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Lucy followed his actions, "I finally got to the guild of my dreams only to find it a complete madhouse. Isn't there anybody normal here?" she asked.

"Is this what meeting us was like Lucy?" Ray politely asked in her quiet tone.

"Kinda." Lucy admitted sheepishly. Only for Ray to bow.

"I apologize for any sort of headache we caused."

"Oh no, don't apologize, I'm already used to your antics it's just-"

"Oh my, are you all new here?" a slightly melodic voice interrupted.

"Goddammit I'm officially sick of this," Tyson quickly turned to the voice and shouted, "WHADDYA WANT?!"

The speaker was Mirajane, who had a hand over her mouth in surprise at being yelled at. The rest of the group gave him a similar look.

"Uh... sorry..." the greenette sheepishly apologized and looked away in shame.

Lucy finally noticed who was speaking to them, "Yo-You're the real M-Mirajane!" Lucy cheered like a schoolgirl. A chair smashing into the wall nearby drew Lucy's attention back to the guild wide brawl. "Don't we have to stop them?!"

"Don't worry," Mirajane replied sweetly, getting back to her senses. "This happens all the time. "And-"

A bottle came from nowhere and was about to strike her in the head, only for a hand to snatch it out of mid air before it made contact. She blinked in surprise, then followed the hand, she saw it belonged to Michael.

"Are you unharmed?" he asked politely.

Mira blushed slightly at his actions. It wasn't everyday that you get saved from potential harm by a reasonably attractive man, but she covered it up with a sweet smile, "I am, thank you. Like I said this happens everyday, but isn't it more fun like this?"

'_And there goes my last hope of normalcy here.'_ Lucy thought in despair. just as Gray landed nearby. But the group now stood slack jawed, as Gray stood up, he was now buck naked, and he stood a mere few feet away from her. On the other side of the guild Natsu twirled Gray's boxers around his index finger triumphantly.

"You bastard! Gimme back my underpants!" but then Gray spotted Lucy and Ray and zipped over to them. "Excuse me, may one of you lend me your underwear?" Gray asked, but he was immediately met with Lucy's fist.

"NO WAY!" she screamed, then Loke came and held both blondes in his arms.

"People without class or elegance are so annoying, don't you think?" Loke asked them with a wink. "By the way, which modeling agencies are you two part of?"

"What is happening?" Ray shyly asked, blushing brightly. Then Elfman came from nowhere and slugged the playboy across the jaw, letting the two get back to their friends.

"REAL MEN TALK WITH THEIR FISTS!" and he rushed back into the fray, only for Natsu to kick him back out immediately.

"I SAID BUTT OUTTA THIS!"

"Things are getting insane!" Skitt yelled as he took cover in Michael's jacket.

Meanwhile, Jordan had just slammed Curtis' head into a table, only for the silverette to slam his elbow into Jordan's face and then kick him in the chest.

At this point, Cana was done with the current situation, "AH! It's so noisy. I can't even drink in peace." Cana said, as a vein bulged on her forehead. "It's time to end this you guys." She pulled out a tarot card and it glowed with magic energy. "You'd all better knock it off!

"I've had it!" Gray exclaimed as he punched a fist into his palm. Cold magic energy formed around his hands. "Now I'm mad!"

"RAAAH!" Elfman roared, as he raised his arm into the air. A magic circle surrounded his arm, and transformed his normal arm into one made of stone.

"Nuisances, all of you." Loke said with a sigh, as he twisted a ring on his index finger. The ring started to glow, as a magic circle formed over it.

"COME AND GET ME! HAHAHA!" Natsu laughed wildly, as he engulfed his hands in flames.

"They're gonna use magic!?" Lucy exclaimed, as she felt the magic power in the room skyrocket.

"Are they actually insane!?" Skitt screamed while Michael clutched him closely

"Oh my, it looks like things are getting a little out of hand." Mirajane said with a sweatdrop.

"Ya think?!" Tyson snapped while trying to separate Jordan and Curtis. He was enjoying the show, but stepped in when they started strangling each other.

**_BOOM!_**

**"THAT'S ENOUGH YOU FOOLS!" **A new voice boomed, as an enormous foot slammed into the ground.

Lucy slowly turned around, and what she saw nearly made her pee her pants. Standing in the center of the guild was a massive shadowy figure, the figure was so tall that it almost reached the ceiling.

**"STOP THIS RUCKUS! THIS INSTANT!"** The figure roared, making everyone, except six certain individuals, freeze in place.

"HE'S HUMONGOUS!" Lucy screamed, as her eyes bulged.

The sextet were in the process of taking action, their bodies glowing in their respective auras, ready to launch an all out attack and defend the guild from this invading, monstrous, horrific threa-

"Oh you were here the whole time Master Makarov?" Mirajane asked the towering figure.

.

..

...

"WHAT?!" They all shouted as their auras vanished, unseen by most.

"That's this guilds master?!" Lucy exclaimed, as she pointed a shaky finger.

"HAHAHAHA! You all wimped out!" Natsu laughed with his hands on his hips. "I guess I win this on-!"

**_SPLAT!_**

Natsu was crushed underneath the giant's foot. The towering creature turned it's head towards Lucy and the sextet.

**"AH! I SEE WE HAVE SOME NEWCOMERS." **He wasn't yelling

"Y-Yes/ Yes sir," They spoke, well, Ray, Skitt and Lucy more so stuttered out, as they started to shake uncontrollably. The others managed to hold firm.

The massive figure then began smoking and unleashing a lot of pressure. The team readied themselves for anything, but they weren't prepared for the building sized figure to turn into an old man that was only around twice as tall as Happy and Skitt.

He had black eyes and was mostly bald with only the outer rims of his head containing white hair, and a matching mustache. He was dressed in a casual manner, with an attire consisting of a white shirt with a black Fairy Tail stamp in the middle under an orange hoodie. His attire was completed with matching orange shorts and an orange and blue striped jester hat.

This is Makarov Dreyar, current master of the Fairy Tail guild.

(Fun Fact: He's over 80 years old and still going strong!)

"Nice to meetcha!" he casually greeted them.

"This is the Guild master?!" Lucy questioned.

"That's correct!" Mirajane answered.

"He's so tiny!" Everyone but Michael stated, he continued to stare wide-eyed. They then watched as he jumped into the air, did several flips and was about to land on a railing on the second level, but he miscalculated the angle, and hit the railing head first. After grumbling a few profanities, Makarov rose and stood on the railing. Sighing, Makarov pulled a large stack of papers out of his jacket.

"You nimrods have done it again. Just look at all the paperwork the council sent me this time! Every single one of them is a complaint!" He admonished. "Gray!"

"Yeah?" the stripper answered.

"You wiped out a major smuggling organization, but then wandered around the town in the nude! And then you ran away after stealing someone's drying underwear!"

"Well... it was better than walking around naked..." He replied, embarrassed. _"Then keep your clothes on."_ Tyson and Elfman said simultaneously, making them look at each other.

"Elfman!" said giant flinched, "You were assigned to protect an essential V.I.P, only to assault him yourself when the mission was over!"

"He said men were all about education..." Elfman weakly protested

"Cana! You drank fifteen entire barrels of alcohol, and then sent the bill to the council!"

"Oooh, busted..." she brought a glass of wine to her mouth to hide her face.

"Loke! You flirted with Councilman Leiji's granddaughter, and a talent agency you damaged is charging the guild for repairs as well!"

The playboy said nothing, he merely looked away shamefully.

"And last but not least, Natsu..." said pinkette had just now woken up after his stomp, "You apprehended the Devon Thief Family, but destroyed seven other houses in the process! Not only that, you leveled a historical clock tower in Tuly Village, burnt down a church in Freesia, irreparably damaged parts of Lupinus Castle, caused the Nazuna Observatory to collapse, and stop working,"

_'Wow, all of that was Natsu huh? Fairy Tail really does cause a ruckus.'_ Lucy thought.

,"and lastly, you and some other delinquent destroyed half of Hargeon's port!"

Michael looked towards Lucy, his face blank and childish. "He means you!" she yelled.

"It's like all you guys ever do is get the council mad at me!" the Master finished his rant, trembling with emotion. Every member looked down in shame, and the newcomers could feel the tension in the air. They all prepared for another, harsher outburst, but to their surprise, Makarov started to chuckle. He then raised the pile of complaints into the air where everyone could see them, and his hand was suddenly engulfed in flames, burning the papers.

"But the council can kiss my ass!" Makarov said, as he tossed the burning pile of paper. Natsu was quick to react, as he leaped up and grabbed the flaming pile of complaints in his mouth, much like a dog.

"Listen up you brats! The power to overcome reasoning, comes from reasoning. Magic is not some miracle, it is only made reality when the magic flow within us, connects with the magic flow in nature, and they come into perfect sync for the first time! Magic does not merely come from intense mental strength and focus, nay, it comes from the very soul!"

Everyone watched with rapt attention, hanging on to his every word. While the sextet were listening as well, they seemed to be contemplating something.

"If you're always worrying about being scolded by the higher-ups, then you'll never improve your magic! So do not fear those idiots on the council!" Everyone one in the guild was grinning from ear to ear. This type of speech was a common thing for them, and they all knew how it would end.

"DO WHATEVER YOU THINK IS RIGHT!" Makarov cheered, as he raised his arms into the air. "THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FAIRY TAIL MAGE!"

The entire guild burst into a chorus of cheers and applause. Makarov's speech roared life back into the guild, and eventually everyone started partying. The team couldn't help the grins on their faces, and they cheered along with everyone else.

In fact, everyone was so enraptured with the festivities, that they didn't notice Makarov giving a certain six a sideways glance.

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**A map showing all the hot spots in Magnolia.**_

* * *

**Fairy Tail Guild: 1 Hour Later**

_Pop!_

"There you are, you're now an official member of Fairy Tail!" Mirajane declared.

Lucy looked at the back of her right hand, now bearing a pink Fairy Tail guild mark, with shining eyes. After so long she finally had joined the guild of her dreams. Sure the first couple of minutes were pure insanity, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Guys look! I finally got my own Fairy Tail mark!" she presented to the team and Natsu.

"Eh? Oh, good for you Luigi," Natsu said, as he barely paid attention.

"IT'S LUCY!"

She then had to listen to Tyson as he laughed uproariously at Natsu's botching of her name.

"Gahaha, Luigi! What a riot!"

After the festivities had gone down to a reasonable level, the group had chosen to settle down for a while and have some lunch. Michael was absent for some reason.

"So you were called Salamander in another town, and the nickname just spread from there?" Jordan asked Natsu.

"Pretty much, yeah." he replied in between eating a flaming piece of chicken off a plate of many more.

"And it never struck you that somebody was using your alias when you heard 'Salamander'?" Curtis asked.

"I just never really cared about it all that much. Or at all." Natsu answered as he threw the bone away.

They couldn't really argue with that. "So what's next for us?" Lucy asked.

"I'm gonna finish eating, then I'm going to find a job to do because I'm broke." Natsu simply answered, reaching for another chicken.

"Well what about you guys?" she questioned the group of five. "Aren't you going to get your marks too?" She thought they would be right behind her, and was confused when they weren't.

"Master Makarov wanted to speak with Mikey about something before we do." Skitt answered, gesturing up to the door to the master's office.

"Hopefully it's nothing bad." Ray whispered.

"Well... while we wait, do you guys think you can tell us a bit more about Stands?" Lucy asked as she sat down.

"Yeah! What Mikey did last night was so cool!" Happy waved his paws excitedly.

"Plus I've never heard of Stands before. And Mikey mentioned that you all have your own, so how did you guys get them?" the blonde questioned further.

The group of now five looked at each other, as if contemplating the relatively simple question, before all sighing in unison, confusing Lucy and Happy.

"You guys may wanna grab a snack or somethin', it's a long story." Tyson finally answered.

* * *

**Makarov's** **office****:** **Same** **Time**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

**_ゴ_**

There was palpable tension within the confines of the office. As both men gave each other a calculating look. Both sides trying to learn what the other was about.

Michael made the first move.

"So, may I ask what brings me here? Master Makarov." he spoke politely and with respect.

"Call me 'Gramps' young man, most of the guild does." the elder responded, "And to answer your question, I must ask another one," The old man's look hardened.

"Who are you?"

Michael remained silent for a moment, "I'm afraid you will have to be more specific, Gramps." he responded with Makarov's nickname.

Makarov began to pace a little as he explained, "When I made my appearance to stop the fight, you and your friends instinctively prepared to attack. I sensed your energy at that moment, and while similar, it is fundamentally different from magic. And magic exists everywhere in the world. Even non-wizards possess magic, though it is very minuscule and cannot be accessed like how wizards are able to. So I'll ask again, more specifically."

He stopped and looked Michael in the eye, "_What_ are you?"

Michael motioned for the Master to sit at his desk as he took the visitor's seat. When they were both across from each other, he spoke.

"Would you believe that me and my friends are not of this world?"

Makarov knew a liar when he sensed one. Years of acting like a parent gave him that ability. He could even decipher if the person was in so deep a delusion, they believed it to be the reality.

And right now, he could tell for a fact that Michael was certainly in his right mind.

"There have been theories into the subject of other worlds. But now you'll need to elaborate." he spoke up.

Michael interlocked his fingers and placed his chin atop them before speaking, "Me and my comrades arrived just yesterday. Before that, in our minds the concept of magic existed only in fiction. But if you are asking for the 'how' in this situation, well, save your questions for the end, because this is quite a story to tell." _'And I may have to gloss over certain aspects...'_ he thought towards the end.

* * *

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**Detroit, Michigan: 11 P.M. (Day Before Yesterday)**

_("Our world is known simply as 'Earth'. A world where real magic does not exist. We lived in a city called Detroit, it was industrialized, but had some of, if not _the_, highest crime rates in the country. The night was average. We had no idea what was to come soon.)_

A warehouse sat by itself in an abandoned district, it looked incredibly worn down, tagged by graffiti, it's only companions were the litter surrounding it, and a white van parked outside.

The inside is what mattered.

* * *

**Inside the Warehouse:**

The interior had been fashioned into a makeshift domicile. Mattresses, sleeping bags, and a little impromptu hammock were off to one side. On another, several computer screens had been cobbled together on a desk to form a command center, including a large swivel-chair. In the far corner, a center with exercise equipment had been set up, including barbells and a sandbag. In the last corner, was a kitchen, including a fridge, a sink, and several tables. Our sextet sat at one, having an intelligent conversation over some stew.

Intelligent being relative.

"Come on guys, hear me out about this!" Tyson asked.

"Fine, just cool it already would you? What do you want Tyson?" Curtis replied.

"Okay, so I was thinking about this last night... If you were to eat human flesh, would it taste good or bad?"

Hearing that out of left field question, Ray spat her food out of her mouth and coughed, partially disgusted.

"C'mon man, don't talk about stuff like that." Jordan admonished.

"Why would you even bring that up?" Skitt asked as he pats Ray on the back.

"Just hear me out okay? I mean you're the so-called food expert Curtis, you should really think about this, this kinda stuff is connected to whether or not you're livin' a happy life." He paused to take a spoonful of stew in his mouth, "That's why I think it's important."

The group just stared at him, not counting Michael, he simply read a book. Tyson chose to continue.

"So we got our carnivores, right? Y'know, like lions and vultures and stuff. You won't find meat from carnivores like that in restaurants. Why is that?"

Jordan gave an uninterested stare.

"Because it stinks too much to eat! It's disgusting! Cats are too gross to eat, ya get me?"

"Wait you guys wouldn't actually eat me, right?" Skitt asked worriedly.

"Whaaat? No, no, course we wouldn't...I mean if we were desperate..." Tyson trailed off. Skitt looked as if he was about to break down.

"Tyson stop that." Michael commanded.

"Alright! Sorry, I was just kiddin'." Tyson apologized, scratching the back of his head.

Michael put the book down and looked towards Skitt, "Skitt, I promise you, we will not eat you, even if the foremost culinary expert in the world said you taste good. Okay?" The little cat nodded and calmed down, prompting Tyson to continue.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, so on the other hand, have you ever heard of 'sweetfish'? Sweetfish don't eat bugs, just algae. They're vegetarians. Usually, fish guts are too bitter to eat, but sweetfish guts are delicious. That's because they ain't carnivores."

Curtis now actually looked intrigued.

"So with that in mind, all the meat we find tasty comes from herbivorous animals! Like cows, pigs, and chickens! The better their feed, the better they taste! So that leads me to the conclusion, humans would taste gross because they eat meat! So? How'd ya like my theory? "

Ray, Curtis and Skitt actually looked as if they were considering it. "That's...actually kinda convincing when I think about it." Curtis commented.

"Right? That whole thing that comes up in books and stuff about human meat tasting good is a load of crap!" the greenette declared.

"I, uh... I actually eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than meat though..." Ray muttered.

"Hehe, then you might actually taste pretty good then!" Tyson laughed, making Ray wimper a bit.

"Rat, don't egg him on, and Tyson, stop picking on Ray." Jordan finalized.

The six of them then looked at one another, and just let out a laugh. These kinds of conversations happened at least once a day.

Just then, at their command center, a notification alert sounded off, garnering the attention of the group. They quickly finished their meals and proceeded over to the screens, where Ray had plopped herself into the chair. The notification was telling them that they had just received an email.

"That must be from our contact." Michael deduced.

"You mean 'your' contact? Because she gets snarky with everyone but you." Tyson commented.

"That's hypocritical coming from you. Ask her about it later. Ray, pull it up." the blonde did what was asked and clicked on the alert, showing them the email. It read:

* * *

_FoUnD wHaT yOu WeRe LoOkInG fOr_

_ThIs GuY hAs ThE dEtAiLs. FiLe AtTaChEd WiTh EmAiL_

_XoXoXoXo LoVe "A"_

(Next to the initial was a winking cat emoji)

* * *

Everybody took in the information presented to them, but gave a depanned stare at the ending.

"If she didn't give reliable information, I would've assumed she was just screwing with us this whole time." Jordan was certainly irritated.

Michael begrudgingly shared his look, "Well she hasn't let us down before. Ray, show us the attachment."

Ray clicked on the symbol for attachments and a separate file appeared, containing a picture of a man standing by the entrance to a bar, and another note.

The man was fairly tall, with pale, greasy skin and long, equally greasy black hair. His eyes were obscured by a pair of dark purple shades. He had a long pointed nose, a goatee, and he was smiling so he showed that his front teeth were missing. He wore a dark brown fur overcoat with the collar and cuffs surrounded by wooly tan fur. The coat was decorated in a series of motifs that resembled yellow crowns. He wore plain dark dress pants and shoes.

"The file says his name is Walter Ricks, his name on the street is 'Slick'-"

"Unoriginal." Tyson commented.

"-He's a low level snitch and drug dealer. Walks with an inflated sense of self worth ever since he joined our targets, but no evidence that he has a Stand. Around this time of the week, he spends his night getting drunk at this bar," Ray moved the cursor over the picture, "It's called the 'Outta Sight'. It's less than an hour away. He should be there now."

Michael then declared, "Then the plan is set. We encounter him on the street, get him someplace secluded and..." he casts a quick glance at Ray, who turned away from his gaze, downcast,"...persuade him to relinquish the information to us. Are we clear?"

**"Yes."** the other five spoke in unison.

"Then let's go. Jordan, you're driving."

With a goal in mind, they all walked towards the front door of the warehouse.

Their mission begins now.

* * *

**The Outta Sight: 11:45 P.M.**

Some call this bar a hole in the wall, others say it's walls have too many holes. Those people don't know a front when they see one.

It's a hangout for criminals, cash only, and no questions asked, aside from 'How old are you?' and 'What's on the menu?' The shoddy appearance only kept those ignorant of what happens inside away.

Aside from that, it still had some standards, such as knowing when to expel a misbehaving patron.

Which is what's happening to Walter 'Slick' Rick right now, as he was literally thrown out the front door by a muscle bound bouncer.

He landed harshly against the sidewalk, but quickly stood up again, albeit with a wobble, signifying that he was drunk.

_"C'mooon man, dunt do thiz ta me, that beeyatch was askin' fer it! Ya saw wut she waz wearin'!" _The way he spoke proved it.

"I don't care what you_ think_ was happening, but that was strike three man! You're banned from the establishment! If I catch you anywhere nearby I've got permission to hurt you!" The bouncer threatened.

_"'Er yoo threathnin' me! Do ya know who I am?! Who I work fer?!" _Slick yelled.

"I don't care! You come back here, you'll be leaving in a bodybag!" The bouncer went back into the building and slammed the door.

_"Ah screw ya! Ya don't mezz wit me an' get away wit it!"_ Slick spat at the door and left. While he did, he reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of cheap whiskey he managed to snag before getting kicked out. _"Heh, dat's why dey call me 'Slick'."_ He told himself as he left to find another bar. One that would be grateful to have him grace the patrons with his greatness. Soon he chose to cut through an alleyway to save time.

"Excuse me sir?" a young male voice called out to him.

Looking to his side, Slick saw what appeared to be a small child wrapped in a tattered cloak with a hood. He didn't know if it was the poor lighting or his own inebriation, but he couldn't quite make out the face.

"Can you spare some change sir?" the child asked politely.

_"Pizz off kid, I ain't got nothin' fer ya."_ Slick replied rudely. That was a lie, he had a stack of hundreds in his back pocket, but that was for booze, not stupid kids.

"I think you do 'Slick'."

Before the man could fully comprehend what the child had uttered, a bag was thrown over his head and his legs were kicked out from under him. Over the bag, he felt someone's hand cover his mouth, and then he was dragged deeper into the alley. He couldn't' see through the bag, but he felt the dragging stop after about two minutes, only to then feel himself hoisted up by three people, one for each arm, and another for both legs. The adrenaline now pumping through his veins helped him be more alert.

"Whoever the hell you think you are, you're all making a big mistake, a BIG one! Do you know who I am?! Who I work for?!" It even helped him speak properly as he screamed at his captors.

From an outside view, it is shown that Slick's captors were the team minus Ray. Curtis held his left arm, Tyson his right, and Jordan had both legs. Michael and Skitt stood off to the side, with the cat wearing the cloak.

"Good job Skitt. Now go wait in the van with Ray." Michael praised, making the feline preen at the compliment before leaving.

"We do know who you work for in fact. Do YOU know how much we don't care?" Tyson answered their captive in a snarky voice.

"You little shits have no idea what you're getting into! You do ANYTHING to me, your sorry asses won't see tomorrow!" Slick tried to threaten.

"Actually we have a fair idea as to whom we are 'messing with', Mr. Ricks." Michael answered from above his head in a calm, respectful voice. "And you will help us to accomplish our goal for them."

"Yeah? Well give me one goddamn good reason why I should!" He wanted to spit at his captors, but the bag on his head prevented that.

"As you wish." The ominous reply came. Before Slick felt several things in quick succession. First, it was his jacket being undone and his shirt pulled up, exposing his torso to the cold air. Second, and most disturbing, was the feeling of four, tiny clawed feet skittering across his bare skin, before lastly feeling something metallic, cylindrical and hollow cover it.

"Shit, shit! What the hell is that?!" Slick was getting scared now. He struggled but his captors held firm.

"What you are feeling right now, Mr. Ricks," Michael spoke again, his tone remaining even, "Is a simple metal paint bucket, holding a common brown rat. It is actually a bit below average in terms of size, some grow to be a little over a foot from nose to tail, but I digress. Answer our questions, and we won't proceed any further."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Get this thing offa me!" Slick struggled harder but his captors weren't even flinching.

"You're lying Mr. Ricks. You mentioned them earlier. We want information about your employers..." Michael continued to speak, and he lowered his head to speak directly into Slick's ear.

"... about _Passione_."

That made Slick freeze. If the bag wasn't covering his face, you would've seen Slick looking terrified.

"Who are you?! How do you know that name?!" the struggling came even harder, Tyson nearly lost his balance but tightened his grip in response.

"I will be asking the questions. Now, I am about to heat up the paint can. Once the rat feels the heat, it will be desperate to escape. Now answer this: what's easier to dig through? Metal? Or human flesh?"

Michael didn't wait for an answer as he manifested **[Burner Heart's]** hands over his own, and gradually began to start increasing the output of heat from his hands. They could hear the rat start to squeak and struggle inside the paint bucket.

"No no- hey! Get this thing off me and I'll forget this ever happened!" Slick began to struggle again, the bravado gone from his tone.

"Hey guys, did you know that the average rat can actually chew through things like metal pipes or even brick?" Michael asked his friends, which got Slick to sweat even more. Then Michael proceeded to lean back down to Slick's ear, "And another thing, Mr. Rick, you have nothing to worry about when the rat is making noise, it is when it goes silent that you have to worry. Because that is when it gets to work."

Now completely freaking out, Slick started screaming, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" Quick to act, Michael fully summoned **[Burner Heart] **to hold down the bucket and continue to apply heat, while he used his own hands to muffle the screams.

Eventually, just as Michael said, the rat stopped squeaking, but right after that Slick started screaming louder, muffled noise that sounded like 'It's biting me!' came from his mouth, but those present remained impassive to his suffering. And then one shout sounded like 'Alright!'

"You'll comply?" Michael asked, his captive nodded furiously, "_Passione_ is expecting a delivery tonight. We want to know when and where. Tell us, and we remove the bucket." and with that, Michael removed his hand.

"Port of Detroit! One A.M.! Some of the lieutenants in the gang are going to be there! I don't know what the product is but it's essential if it needs them to oversee it coming in! That's all I know, I swear to God!"

Michael could hear the truth in his desperation. The man he was looking at was too much of a coward to lie after all of this. He recalled **[Burner Heart]** and knocked the bucket away, allowing the rat to jump from Slick's body and run off into the darkness. They could see the bite wounds and claw marks left behind by the rodent, blood slowly leaking out of them.

"Good job Mr. Ricks, a deal is a deal." Michael said, before giving his team a look. They then shoved the man face first onto the ground and got his arms behind his back. Jordan pulled a zip-tie from his pocket and tied his wrists together. "And this is just to make sure that you don't warn anyone about us. We're done here. let's go." With the interrogation/ torture out of the way, the team proceeded to leave the alley.

"...You stupid bastards..." Slick seethed, causing the group to turn back to him.

"You stupid shitheads better hope I don't get out of this, because when, not if, WHEN my bosses here about this, the shIT THEY'RE GONNA DO TO YOU WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOUR PARENTS NEVER FUC-"

**_BAM!_**

Curtis kicked the restrained man in the side of the head.

"He was done." He shrugged.

Exiting through the other side of the alley, where the van was parked with Skitt and Ray at the open side door. Jordan quickly moved to the driver's seat while the rest hopped in the back.

"Gehehe! Man that was a riot! If I had a camera I'd post that on the internet and see how many views it would receive before someone takes it down." Tyson laughed.

"We have a location and time now. Ray, call in the others," The silent blond nodded, "Jordan, let's get there ahead of time and scout things out."

"Leave it to me." the tall man assured.

"Just try not to get us lost dumbass." Curtis joked.

"ONE MORE WORD FROM YOU, AND I WILL CRASH THIS FRIGGIN' THING!"

Three slaps occurred then. Tyson and Skitt hitting Curtis upside the head, and Michael facepalming.

* * *

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"Now, Gramps, I know I asked to save all questions until the end, but you're most likely wondering what exactly _Passione_ is, correct?" Michael asked as he broke from his story.

"That is one of the questions on my mind, yes." While his tone failed to show it, Makarov was actually quite astounded at how different yet similar their worlds are.

"Well, does Earthland have a sort of opposite to legal guilds?" Michael asked.

"We do. They are simply known as 'Dark Guilds'. For various reasons, they're guilds not recognized by the Magic Council, so they are instead treated as criminal organizations." Makarov explained.

"And that's exactly what _Passione_ is. A massive organization of criminals and thugs, containing thousands of members. Originally stemming from a country across the ocean known as 'Italy',and to my knowledge they essentially took over and have more power than the government, they've since begun expanding into our home country of America. They make their income in nearly every crime you could imagine. Gambling, protection fees, info trading, assassinations, narcotics, they have a hand in everything. Coupled with their control over hotels, restaurants, construction sites, and the number of law enforcement officers and city officials they have eating out of their hands, Passione is nearly untouchable." Michael told grimly.

"And then there's you and your friends...a group of youths against a veritable army." the Master deduced whilst stroking his mustache.

"Outmatched we may seem, but we may be the only people that have the ability to fight them."

"How so?" Makarov asked.

"Another major fact about _Passione_ is that most of their members are Stand Users. Regular people back in our world cannot see, nor can they interact with Stands. Unlike the people of your world apparently." Michael began to roll up his left sleeve, and when it was bare Makarov saw that a majority of it was covered in dark red bruises.

"Where did those come from?" he asked.

"During the fight in Hargeon, I blocked magical several attacks with my Stand. These injuries are the result of that. Normally only a Stand can harm another Stand, so it was a bit of a surprise to find these later on. Thankfully my Stand is rather durable so the damage was minimalized." Michael explained.

"I see... have you an explanation for this?" Makarov questioned.

"You said it yourself," Michael began, "Magic stems from one's very soul, and Stands are literally the manifestations of a souls energy. By that logic, it would make sense for magic to be able to affect Stands, wouldn't it?"

Makarov couldn't deny the theory. It made sense that two abilities with the same origin can have an effect on each other. "But back to the matter at hand, even if you and your friends do wield these abilities, why take this grand effort into your own hands?"

A somber look went across Michael's face, "Let's just say that Passione has hurt most of us in some way." That statement alone spoke volumes, and the environment became hollow, but then another look of determination crossed Michael's face, he crossed one leg over the other, placed his right hand on his knee, and brought his left hand to his chest. "But as a man who fought for the freedom of his people once said, 'There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.' And taking up this fight is what my conscience says is right. So I, Michael Armani, have a dream. To clear out the criminals who infest the city I grew up in, the city my allies, my friends, _mi famiglia_ call home."

Makarov could feel the resolve emanating from the young man in front of him. It was very rare that he would find someone who could make such bold declarations, yet Michael had done just that, while somehow making him feel as if he could do it.

"Although..." But then Michael's face and tone became disgruntled, "As loathe as I am to admit it, Slick was right, because what happened at the port was more than what we were all prepared for..."

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**Another card appears, this time, the blacked out shape was more serpentine with an odd head shape, claws, and wings.**_

_**Stand Name [?]**_

_**Stand Master - ?**_

_**Power - ?**_

_**Speed - ?**_

_**Range - ?**_

_**Durability - ?**_

_**Precision - ?**_

_**Growth Potential - ?**_

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**Port of Detroit: 12:58 A.M.**

_The Port of Detroit, located along the west side of the Detroit River, it is the largest seaport in the state of Michigan. The port consists of multiple marine terminals handling general, liquid, and bulk cargo. Over 1,300 people arrive in this port annually, alongside over 13,000,000 tons of cargo._

_Any other day, it would be filled with harder workers doing honest labor._

_Tonight, it's a den of thieves._

_This is where it happened._

* * *

"...Alright copy, good luck on your end guys." _krrish_

That was Tyson getting off a walkie talkie. He was standing atop a pile of shipping containers, allowing him to oversee a large section of the port, as well as some of the road leading in. By his side was Ray, whose eyes were closed.

"Alright, everybody is in place. How do things look from a bird's eye view?" he asked.

Despite her eyes being closed, Ray seemed to react to something and opened her eyes. "There are several cars moving in a row towards our entrance. Same make, same model. It's them."

Tyson smiled, "Nice one. Now recall **[Storm Rider]**. We can't take the chance that one of 'em can see it."

Ray nodded and stuck her left arm out. Within a minute, they heard a light buzzing noise that steadily grew closer. Then an odd looking creature appeared. It's primary color was yellow, and it was mostly insectoid in appearance, with an exoskeleton covering it's whole body, with a scorpion-like tail about as long as a man's arm, with a stinger in the shape of a lightning bolt. The head was vaguely crescent shaped, with the thicker middle acting as a face, and the thin points acting as horns. It had red compound eyes in the shape of footballs and light purple markings decorating the face. The main body was thin and segmented, and connected to two arms that possessed two elbow joints and tipped with claws resembling a mantis. Lastly, it had thin gossamer wings sticking from it's back that were lavender in color.

The creature wrapped around Ray's arm in a spiral motion as it landed, before vanishing. "They'll be here any minute." Ray informed.

Tyson had a pair of binoculars in hand and was keeping a lookout. "...Y'know, your Stand is a lot more useful than ya think Ray." he spoke after a moment.

Ray seemed to flich at his words, before looking down...as in emotion, not direction, "I know... I could've helped out with Slick... but... " she tried to speak.

"It's fine Ray." Tyson interrupted and turned towards her, "I know about your problems. Don't worry about it." He flashed a kind smile, "If you're ever ready to talk, ya got me. Remember that?"

Ray smiled gratefully at her friend, before they heard the sounds of engines rumbling and looked towards the entrance, seeing headlights approaching.

"Show time." Tyson said, his tone was completely serious.

A line of cars rolled in through the entrance, five black vans and one blue sports car. The vans were arranged protectively around the car before they all stopped at a large clearing in the field of shipping containers. Joining them were another five vans and a plain looking gray sedan. Exiting each van were eight men armed with pistols and/or assault weapons. Obvious thugs. From the sedan came a fairly tall man in a plain looking hoodie and carrying a long metal case of some kind. From Tyson and Ray's view, they couldn't see his face.

Exiting the sports car were three men, they were another story.

From the passenger's seat came a man of seemingly average height and build, but he walked hunched over so he may have been taller. His most noteworthy feature was his beige hair, which was kept in a large pompadour that stuck out a foot in front of his face. The underside had a series of spikes that hooked back towards his head, making it look like a giant knife. His face was a bored scowl, his eyes were turquoise, and his lips were parted showing his teeth were unnaturally large, straight, and uniformly rectangular, almost as if his teeth were ivory piano keys. He wore a wine colored polo shirt with jagged designed lapels, and white laces crossing his bare chest. The openings on the short sleeves had designs resembling orange quarter notes. He white white pants with black criss-cross shapes on the legs and gold colored shoes.

From the navigators seat came a much skinnier man. His skin was deathly pale, which contrasted against his dark indigo hair. He had odd eyebrows shaped like the letter "F" which sat above eyes containing black, pinprick pupils. A creepy grin on his face showed that, like Tyson, his teeth were abnormally sharp. He wore a navy blue jacket with an odd zipper, as it went from his neck, to his right shoulder, and then down to his left hip. A yellow arrow motif pointed into the angle the zipper made, while a second one parallel to it started from his midsection and pointed towards his left pectoral. The sleeves had an orange ring around the biceps and white splotches on the elbows, resembling elbow pads. He wore black pants with purple flame designs on the back of the legs, and black shoes with white arrow shaped buckles.

The driver was taller than both by a few inches and was much more muscular. He had sun kissed skin, brown eyes, a cleft chin, and spiky orange hair with a widows peak almost reaching in between his eyes. He wore a sleeveless red vest with a deep arrow shaped neckline that showed the top of his pectorals, and black whirling motifs decorated the surface. Each one had a symmetrical motif right across from it, as if each half of the vest was mirroring the other. He had green arm warmers around his wrists, and black bands around his elbows which contained a single spike. He wore brown pants littered with scuff marks, and black boots.

Seeing those three, Tyson spoke into his walkie, _krisssh_, "'Ey, Mikey, three guys came out of the sports car, you see 'em?"

_Krisssh, "Yeah, no way those are just regular thugs. Those must be the lieutenants Slick told us about. Be careful, there's too many armed men about for all of us to take on. " krisssh_

They saw as the man in the red vest and the one in the blue jacket walk towards the man in the hoodie, the one with the pompadour stayed back. The hooded man was at gunpoint from the other thugs but walked as if they weren't there. He brought up the case, moved it so it faced the lieutenants, and opened it. The angle made it impossible for Tyson to see what was in it, but it caused the two to smile brighter. The one in red took the case, then brought his right hand up, causing all the men to lower their weapons. He then used the hand to shake with the hooded man.

Tyson went to his walkie again, _krisssh_, "Did anybody catch what was in the case?" _krisssh_

_krisssh, "I caught a glimpse. Call me crazy, but it kind of looked like-"_

_**BANG!**_

Tyson's walkie was shot from his hand, luckily he didn't lose any fingers.

"FUCK!" he swore, "They spotted us! We gotta move!" Wasting no time, he grabbed Ray's arm and started making their way down the pile of containers, desperate to escape.

Looking over to the _Passione_ members, it is shown that the one who shot at them was the bored looking man with the pompadour. His gun was in hand and still smoking.

"Rumore! What the fuck was that for?!" the man in the red vest admonished.

Turning over to them, the now named Rumore spoke in a tone that was as bored as he looked, "I heard something." he put emphasis on the word. It meant something as the other lieutenants developed shocked, then angry looks.

"All of you spread out! If you see anybody you don't recognise, ventilate their skulls!" the red lieutenant commanded, causing all the men to spread out and search the area. The red lieutenant sighed, "So the rumors were true. There are some idiots attempting to tear us down. Figures it was too much of a coincidence that so many of our minor bases were destroyed."

"Shitheads..." the man in blue muttered, making his associates look at him, "...a couple of stupid shitheads, prancing around, thinking they can _fuck_ around with our business, with the _fucking_ gall to think they can get out unscathed?..." He was trembling and seething, before he simply exploded, _**"I'LL FUCKING KILL THEM ALL! I'LL GOUGE THEIR EYES OUT! PULL THEIR TONGUES FROM THEIR THROATS! STUFF THEIR OWN SHIT INTO THEIR MOUTHS! I'LL MAKE THEM **_**FUCKING** _**REGRET THE MOMENT THEIR SHITTY LITTLE MINDS THOUGHT THEY COULD DARE TO CROSS US AND GET AWAY WITH IT!"**_ After that tirade, he panted as if he just ran a marathon.

The other two were impassive, as if they expected this, "Calm yourself Arretrato", the red lieutenant spoke evenly, placing a hand on the now name Arretrato's shoulder, "We're both as angry as you are, but if we let you have your way when you're angry, we'll be here all night, and we won't be able to bribe our way out when all the evidence is right there."

Arretrato calmed down, but then pouted when he heard the logic, like a child who'd been denied dessert, "So I guess that means you'll be handling them again Parallelo?"

Parallelo smirked, "It's only logical. The only way to properly defeat your opponent, is to remove them, completely and utterly, until nothing remains."

* * *

**Ten Minutes Later:**

For the past ten minutes, it was a game of cat and mouse. The sextet had grouped up some time ago, and were now struggling to hide from the armed gangsters that were flooding the yard. They seemed to be in the last safe spot in the entire yard. All six of them were on edge, sweating buckets out of sheer anxiousness.

"Alright," Jordan began, "I don't know about you guys, but if this is where we meet our end, then I want to go down fighting."

"I'm with him." Tyson agreed, "I'd rather go out swingin' like a man, not like a rat on a sinkin' ship."

Michael contemplated his options, "We may have a way out of this yet. Here's my plan: Jordan, Curtis, you two set up the defense, then we make our way over the wall of containers and try to regro-"

**[Worlds Apart!]**

All they saw next was darkness.

* * *

**?**

"...ey..."

"...Mi..."

"YO MIKEY!"

The black haired youth awoke with a jolt, nearly headbutting Tyson as he sat up.

As he took in his surroundings, he saw not the night sky, or the normally bleak, dark gray buildings of the city. Instead he saw the midday sky above him, and around him were fresh looking, healthy trees.

Continuing his quick, quiet observation, he saw his team in similar states of disheveled awakening. Ray was by Jordan's side as he woke up, rubbing his forehead. Curtis was standing up and looking around, trying to get a bead on their location. Tyson and Skitt were by his side. It seemed he was the last to wake up.

"Whew, glad ya seem to be in okay shape man." Tyson spoke in relief.

"Does anything hurt Mikey?" Skitt looked up at him, visibly worried about the situation.

In response, Michael placed his hand on the little cat's head and gave him and rubbed it, "I'm fine Skitt. Your concern is appreciated, but I really am okay. Thank you though."

Skitt couldn't help but lean into Michael's palm, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling. Tyson could swear he felt a cavity forming in his teeth.

Stopping the rubs, Michael directed his attention to Tyson, "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"All I can say for certain is that we ain't in Detroit anymore. Don't remember seeing green plant life anywhere around there, that's for sure." The greenette explained.

"I don't recognize any of the scents nearby either." Skitt then added.

_"Hey guys!"_ They all hear Curtis yell in the distance.

The five of them pick themselves up and head in the direction they heard their sixth yell. They had left the forest and saw him standing on a cliff. When they regrouped the silverette spoke again, pointing in front of him and sounding somewhat hesitant, "I think I found a place for us to go to."

They all looked to where he was pointing, and were surprised, because they saw a large, beautiful looking port town. Complete with numerous homes and businesses, large park, a train station, and, of course, a marina with a rather large ship docked there.

They spent an unknown amount of time staring at the sight. Never seeing anything so welcoming and visually appealing anywhere close to their home.

"...I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..." Tyson broke the silence.

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"...after that, we made our way to the town, to what we now know is Hargeon, to try and find clues as to where we were. Soon we ran into Natsu and Lucy, and now we made it here." _'Hopefully he doesn't ask about how we got the info out of Slick.'_

Makarov contemplated all the information given. He had a nagging sensation in the back of his head that he wasn't being told the entire story but chose not to press the issue. Hoping the young man in front of him would come clean on his own. "Do you know what sent you here?"

"My only assumption is that it is the work of an enemy Stand. How its ability works exactly eludes us at the moment."

"So now that you are here, what do you plan to do?"

"...Our main mission is to eradicate _Passione_, so there is only one option for us to take: Survive on this world until we find a way back to ours. To do this, we wish to join your guild so we can make a living for ourselves. But that is not our only reason." Michael elaborated.

Makarov raised a brow, signaling him to continue.

"...There were sixteen of us at the port, counting myself and those with me. If there is even the slightest chance that they made it here, then heading out into this world will tell us so."

Makarov seemed to think everything over, before he made his decision, hopping onto his desk in order to speak to Michael face to face.

"I think Fairy Tail will be lucky to have you."

Sheer elation crossed Michael's visage at the news, he took one of the Master's hands into his own and shook it, "Thank you, Master! I promise you will not regret this decision!" he exclaimed happily.

Makarov smiled, seeing the stern facade he put up finally turned into genuine happiness. "I've never regretted letting anyone join. But I have one last question. You sounded sure of yourself earlier about finding the rest of your comrades. If these friends of yours are here, what makes you so certain that you will find them?"

Michael smiled at that, "Tell me sir, do you believe in **gravity**?"

Before Makarov could answer that, an explosion came from outside of the guild, loud enough that it reached all the way to them in the office.

The Master simply looked exasperated, "Oh great! What are those fools doing now?'

* * *

_And so, the truth about Michael and his friends arrival into Earthland has been told._

_Will they find their missing friends?_

_Are they even here?_

_Will they find a way home?_

_And what was that explosion?_

_Find out... Next Time!_

_._

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_**／|_**_

_**〈 To BE CONTINUED…**_

_**＼|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣**_

* * *

_**The card from earlier appears, only now, the blacked out shape was revealed to be [Storm Rider].**_

_**Stand Name [Storm Rider]**_

_**Classification: Natural Inhumanoid**_

_**Type: Long Range**_

_**Stand Master - Ray Sangro**_

_**Power - E**_

_**Speed - C**_

_**Range - A (500m)**_

_**Durability - D**_

_**Precision - B**_

_**Growth Potential - A**_

_**Reference: Riders On The Storm by "The Doors"**_

_**Ability: Unknown**_

_**While [Storm Rider's] abilities have yet to be shown, it's small size and large range of 500 meters (1640 ft) make it useful for scouting**_

* * *

_**AN: Thank you for all the support. Remember to review and give constructive criticism if you can. Sorry if this chapter seemed long winded, and if some parts weren't up to snuff.**_

_**Next time, you'll get a fight! Look forward to it, and bear with me it's my first time making an original fight.**_

_**C Ya!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**Sorry for being gone for so long! It was a mix of life and assorted existential problems I had no control over.**

**In this chapter, there will be a bunch of backs and forths, so hopefully I don't get anyone confused.**

**JJBA is owned by Araki, FT is owned by Mashima. I own my OC's. If any original Stand I made becomes a real Stand, You know that it was my idea first.**

**Thank you for your patience and enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

_Previously on The Most Bizarre Tail:_

_The gang finally makes it to the Fairy tail guild hall, and are immediately introduced to the cavalcade of quirky and quite possibly insane) members who call the guild their home._

_While Lucy is able to immediately join, our gang has to hold off on doing so as Michael explains their story to Master Makarov._

_It turns out our resident flamboyant individuals are from another world! Who'd' imagine that?_

_Our group has dedicated themselves to bringing down an evil organization of Stand wielding criminals known as _Passione_, whose influence in their home city of Detroit makes them nearly untouchable to regular law enforcement._

_But during their latest escapade against the brutal criminals, one of them possessed a Stand which somehow sent them to Earthland. Not only that, Michael revealed that ten other people were working with them when they were sent to this world, and it is entirely possible that they wound up on Earthland as well!_

_So their mission is clear: locate their allies, and then find a way back home! But before any of that can take place, an explosion sounds off from outside the guildhall!_

_What was the cause of it? And will the gang succeed in their mission?_

_Answers and more will come...now!_

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Winter Comes Early! Curtis vs Natsu!**_

**Fairy Tail Guild: 2 P.M. (15 Minutes After Michael Went to Makarov's Office)**

Silence.

That's what permeated the normally rambunctious guildhall.

The cause being the small group of newcomers that had entered today.

It was sort of like the domino effect in a way. First, the team had to explain why Stands had never been heard of in Earthland before, so they came to the decision to tell the full (slightly abridged) story to the audience of Natsu, Lucy and Happy. Reasonably, they were shocked at the unbelievable story they were told, but given everything they saw, they had no choice but to believe it. While they were speaking, the likes of Gray, Cana, Elfman, Loke, and Mira had heard some key details and sat down to listen to the story as well, and then the rest of the extra faces in the guild just continued to trickle in for a listen, until eventually the entire guild had heard the story.

Needless to say, practically everyone's jaw touched the floor due to the info bombs that had just been dropped on them.

A world where magic was fiction and technology ruled? Technology being the dominant power? Something equivalent to the largest dark guild ever ruling an entire country plus one city? Ghost with crazy superpowers living inside people? (Guess who had that thought...)

They then concluded the tale with how they ended up in this new world in the first place, the deal, the failed stakeout, the whole story. The unimportant bits (like torture by rat) were glossed over to save time.

Nobody really knew what to say or think, until Gray finally broke the silence.

"Man, they weren't kidding. That was a long story..." Gray noted.

"I can't believe other worlds exist out there beyond the spirit world." Lucy added.

"Meh, your disbelief is relatable. I know that I certainly couldn't believe it when I woke up yesterday and found myself outside my original plane of reality," Tyson was strangely nonchalant about it all as he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back on his stool, putting his feet on the table,"In our little world, fantasy has become the reality."

"Speaking of which, you said Mikey asked you to keep an eye on me, right Ray?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. He had a bad feeling about you being left alone." Ray spoke.

"So why didn't you guys show up earlier when I was in trouble?" Lucy had to know.

"That actually is a good question, you took a lot longer than we thought to get back to us, what happened to you?" Jordan asked.

Ray's eyes widened at the question as she remembered what held her back.

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Ray stepped out from behind the trees as she watched as Lucy pranced away, happy that the fake Salamander was going to get her into Fairy Tail. But she knew better, he could see the deceit and desire in his eyes.

"I have to tell the others right away." She declared to herself. But right as she was taking off, she saw the Sorcerer Weekly magazine that Lucy had left on the bench. Curious and believing it might contain info that could help the group in this new world, she flipped to the page Lucy left it on.

.

.

...Only to gain an atomic level blush as it was photos of Mirajane doing a series of sexy poses, in a set of criminally sexy bikinis. All Ray felt afterwards was the blood rushing to her head, the world started spinning and-

_'Ray?'_

_'Ray!'_

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"Solewdsolewdsolewdsolewdsolewd..." Ray had passed out on the table, muttering those two words repeatedly, her face tomato red, and what looked like actual steam wafting off of her.

"Is... she gonna be okay?" Cana asked as she stared at the poor girl.

**"Give it a minute." **the other four went, as if this happened before.

Ignoring the statement for a moment, Gray asked, "So what exactly are these Stand things capable of?"

"To our knowledge? Practically anything you can imagine." Curtis answered, "Aside from most being great at close range or long range fighting, each Stand has at least one unique ability only possessed by them. Like Mikey's being able to turn fire solid, or one of them apparently being able to send people and things across dimensions."

"Manly..." Elfman whispered in awe. While the rest chatted about the possibilities, a certain pink hothead developed a fire in his eyes, and leapt up on the table.

"Alright, you guys and me! Right now!" Natsu called out. "Show me what ya got!"

.

..

...The four still conscious members of the team just blinked, their faces comically plain with dots for eyes, while everyone else simply groaned or sighed as they face-palmed in exasperation.

"...I'm sorry, what?" Tyson finally asked.

"Come on, ain't it obvious?" the pinkette clenched his fists, "I wanna see how I do against a Stand, so I'm challenging you guys to a fight!"

"You know the Master won't like it that you're challenging a guest to the guild right?" Wakaba asked.

"Eh, I say let him," surprisingly, it was Gray who said that, causing all who knew him to turn towards the black haired man, "I'm not supporting his decision or anything like that, I just think it'll be fun to see flame-brain get his ass kicked by a newcomer." He said, smirking at the end.

"Where are your clothes?" Skitt asked.

"SHIT!"

Everybody laughed at Gray's expense as he searched for his missing articles of clothing, Natsu being the loudest, until the pinkette felt a hand on his shoulder.

The hand belonged to Curtis. "If you're asking for a little spar, I think I can oblige you."

Natsu's grin grew wider than ever in anticipation. He was clearly about to burst from excitement at any moment. While the rest of the guild looked on with varied expressions.

"Are you sure Curtis?" Lucy asked worriedly. While she had seen that the silver haired man can handle himself against regular opponents yesterday, she had also seen the power Natsu had at his disposal. While she knew Curtis had a Stand according to Michael, she didn't know exactly how it would stack up to the Dragon Slayer. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to."

Curtis smiled, "While it warms my heart that such a lovely lady is showing her concern for me," Lucy blushed at his words, "There are several reasons why I'm doing this. Firstly," he pointed dramatically at Natsu, with his left elbow bent and his index finger parallel to the ground, "I know your type, and you're not going to quit asking until we do so. Am I right?"

**"Yes."** was the resounding answer from everyone in the guild, to Natsu's ire.

"Secondly," Curtis continued, "This is a bit more of a personal reason, but after seeing what you did yesterday in Hargeon, I want to see how I stack up against that, if we're going to be living in a magic world that is. Amd thirdly," at this time, Curtis' eyes were half lidded, making him seem a bit impoing in the eyes of the wizards, "If we are going to be allies from now on, I want to know if one of the people I'll be working with is strong enough to watch our backs. So you can consider this as a bit of a test. Prove that you have what it takes for me to call you an ally." He said in a provoking manner.

"Is that right? Then bring it!" Natsu answered back with vigor.

You could see the sparks flying between their brows as they stared challengingly at each other. The team (including a now conscious Ray) stared on, three of them smirking. Most of the other wizards gathered in the guild hall began to talk amongst each other, clearly excited about this development. They'd just heard so many amazing things about what Stands could potentially do, and now they would get to see it first hand!

.

..

"...Can't we ever just have a normal day around here?" Lucy sighed.

Lucy's protest would not stop this. Though it was just a friendly spar, Natsu's first fight with a Stand user was about to begin!

* * *

**(Arc 1 Opening)**

**Play [Kekkai Sensen/ Blood Blockade Battlefront] Opening 1, "Hello World!" English Cover by [TYER]. Original by "Bump of Chicken"**

_**Looking past the open gate, twisted face, the heated afternoon**_

_**To see that yesterday's repeating, written here, the proof existing**_

(We see Magnolia in the middle of the night, the Fairy Tail guild hall in the distance.)

(The sun slowly begins to rise, turning the formerly night sky into a beautiful gradient of orange and lavender.)

_**Brand new day, I've got to say, still I'm bound to losing my way**_

_**Keep believing, relying, on empty vows and meanings**_

(The sun rises higher, causing a beautiful shine to fill the screen as night transitions to day.)

(Abruptly, the screen goes white, and then becomes somewhat grainy as it changes to a group photo of the sextet, posing and smiling. We zoom out to see it is one in a large series of photos containing different members of Fairy Tail. All of them were grouped together and arranged to resemble the guild symbol. The story title was written across it in a bold, graffiti font.)

**_Times I found myself retreating, somehow my fate decides what I'm to do_**

**_I'd do it well to keep on living, thinking back, it was embarrassing_**

(We see the six are walking through the streets of Magnolia, taking in all the sights and sampling the culture. Apparently unseen by everyone else, they each glow with the same aura from the first chapter, with Michael's being red.)

(We then change to the end of that day, where the picture was taken in a public park. Onlookers gave them odd stares for their posing, but they were paid no heed.)

_**Even if I can't recall, if I just try, I know I'll find it here**_

(A series of photos show their morning routine in the bathroom. Washing the sleep out of their eyes, fixing up their hair/fur, and brushing their teeth. Tyson got looked at weirdly for using a filing tool.)

(Another series shows them enjoying breakfast. Tyson, Ray, Skitt and Michael were speaking animatedly with each other, but Curtis and Jordan started yelling at each other for some reason or another, until Michael glared at them. They look away, a bit of fear in their eyes. The other three sigh in exasperation.)

_**If I let go, you will know, why every breath I'd hold**_

(They now walk towards the guild, smiles and confidence present on their faces.)

_**Look up into the sky, you with darkness in your eyes**_

_**It's because you're standing here, that this light is never ending**_

(We then see the shadow of a woman walking down the same path, carrying a large object above her with a single hand. Before we can see her face, it transitions to Michael's as he stares ahead, determination etched into his features.)

**_With the colors I have chosen, the world surrounds my empty self_**

**_With all the scars I've carried to escape this worthless hell_**

(The six now stand in a circle, watching in awe as the Fairy Tail wizards displayed their incredible abilities. Natsu breathing fire, Lucy summoning her spirits, and the various different spells used by its many other mages.)

(It then transitions to them standing on a pillar which seemed to overlook all of Fiore.)

_**In the middle, you're the hero, the world bestows upon us all**_

(We catch a glimpse of a man holding a giant scythe, floating above a group of unsavory characters. Then quickly transitioning to the scene of a large, monstrous shadow with the figure of a man standing before it. The man turns around to show he is wearing a demonic mask over his face.)

_**Before the curtain calls, you're on the stage until the fall**_

(A shadow of a woman stands atop a stone pillar. She spread her arms out and a flock of some sort of bird is summoned that rush towards the screen.)

_**What can I do? Pretending there's no pothole inside me**_

(There is a close up of Michael's fist as he clenches it in determination.)

**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**

(The camera snaps to his upper half as he poses. His left arm raised to shoulder height, elbow bent, and palm facing upwards. His right arm bent in front of him with his palm facing forward. **[Burner Heart]** appeared next to him, fists raised and ready to fight. Ray was shown with her arms crossed in front of her body, with her hands splayed open. **[Storm Rider]** hovered behind her. The rest of his team adopted various poses as well, but their Stands were not revealed yet.)

**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**

(The camera pans out to reveal the rest of Fairy Tail behind them)

(Shadows of the team zoom by as we close in on Michael. He brings his right arm up showing the Fairy Tail symbol on his palm, which overtakes the screen)

**The Most Bizarre Tail**

* * *

**Outside: 3 Minutes Later**

The front of the guild was all atwitter.

Everyone had piled outside to see the fight between Natsu, and technically unofficial member Curtis. They formed a large circle around the area in front of the guild, which would serve as an arena of sorts for the upcoming brawl. Nevertheless, they all stayed a fair distance away from the center, knowing how Natsu would get in a fight once he started getting serious. The two opponents were standing in the center, but a fair distance away from each other. doing some basic stretches as a warm-up before getting to it.

"Hope you're ready for this, Natsu." Curtis grinned. "Fighting a Stand will be much different from any opponent you've faced up to now."

Curtis was honestly excited. He meant it when he said he wished to test himself against a magic user. Plus any achievement he could brag to Jordan about was a good thing in his opinion.

"Are you kidding?! This is gonna be awesome!" Natsu raised his head and breathed out a plume of fire, **"I'm all fired up!"**

Off to the side behind Curtis, his allies along with Lucy, Happy, and even Gray stood by. "So, what do you think your friends chances are?" the dark haired stripper asked.

Jordan opened his mouth, most likely to say something pejorative, but Tyson slapped his hand over his mouth. Hard. "In my _unbiased_ opinion," he glared at Jordan who glared back while rubbing his mouth, "Depending' on what Natsu's limits are, this could actually go either way."

Gray cocked an eyebrow, "What do flame head's limits have to do with anything? And limits to what exactly?"

Tyson just gave, what could only be referred to as, a slasher smile, showing off every pointy pearly white in his mouth. _"Why spoil the surprise~?"_

"SCARY!"

"GAHAHAHA!" Tyson then pointed and laughed at the three members of Fairy Tail who had jumped back in fear. "GAHAHA, the looks on your dumbass faces, friggin' priceless!"

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" all three screamed at him.

"Yeah! It's fuckin' hilarious!" Tyson kept laughing, actually slapping his knees and holding his sides from laughing too much.

While Tyson was busy being yelled at, the battle was about to be underway. Normally Makarov would be acting as judge, but with him in a conversation with Michael, Wakaba would take his place.

"Alright, are the both of you ready?" he asked, raising an arm. Both fighters assumed a stance, Curtis taking up one used in kickboxing, hands in front of his face, and bringing his right knee up to hip level.

"Let the match...begin!" Wakaba swiped his hand through the air, before retreating into the crowd. Immediately after, the Dragon Slayer then leaped forward and ignited his hands.

**"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Natsu reared back his flaming fist and threw it towards Curtis, who quickly sidestepped the attack, resulting in him impacting the ground. Capitalizing on this, Curtis launched a high kick into Natsu's chin using his right leg, before swiftly bringing it back down and shifting his weight onto it, allowing him to shoot his left leg out for a powerful thrust kick which impacted Natsu's chest, knocking him back.

Gray looked on, mildly impressed. "Hmph, not bad reaction speed. But if he does have one of these Stand things, why doesn't he bring it out now?"

"He's pacing himself." Jordan answered, making the others look towards him. "Us Stand users prefer to know what our opponents are fully capable of before we show off what we can really do."

Natsu skidded backwards for several feet, but managed to catch himself in a crouching position. A second later, the pink-haired wizard touched the area on his chest and winced in slight pain, much to everyone's surprise.

"Gotta admit, that kinda stung." Natsu admitted.

"And you're pretty fast." Curtis said in kind.

That said, the hotheaded wizard wasn't anywhere near done yet. Natsu quickly picked himself up and began to puff out his cheeks, just like the others had seen him do yesterday in Hargeon.

**"Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

An intense plume of fire shot from Natsu's mouth towards Curtis, who, to the shock of many, managed to jump over it and out of the way. Lucy was able to see why though. Around Curtis' legs were shrouded in a sort of misty blue substance.

"I recognize that! Isn't that what Mikey did back in Hargeon when he jumped off the building?" she asked Jordan.

"You're right about that. Some Stand users can partially manifest parts of their Stand over their own body. This lets us augment our striking power, our defences, and in this case, jumping power. While it isn't exactly as powerful as fully manifesting the Stand because it doesn't allow us to use our Stands abilities or increase our speed, it's efficient as it keeps most of the Stand out of harm."

"Is keeping them out of danger that important?" Gray asked.

"It is, cause we share damage." Tyson spoke, garnering their attention. "Since Stands are connected to our souls and what not, any damage they take is reflected back on us. So bringing our Stands out in front of an opponent fully capable of hurtin' 'em without knowing' what they can do is just givin' 'em a second target to attack And if they're destroyed," he dragged his thumb across his throat, "Tt's game over for us, we die."

That thought surprised the wizards but it made sense. Just like with everything in life, having something incredible needs a lot in return.

Back to the fight, Curtis had done a forward flip, and brought his still shrouded right heel onto Natsu's cranium, forcing him to end the fire breath attack. Pressing the attack, he slammed his left knee into the pinkette's forehead, knocking him back and leaving his chin open for a brutal high kick. He then got Natsu with a turning side kick to his right cheek, before shifting the flow to his other leg and brought it down onto Natsu's face with a full body stomp. The impact of which actually left a few cracks in the ground.

Most of the audience was surprised at the powerful combo that was just pulled off. "Whew! Curtis sure ain't holdin' back." Tyson commented with a whistle.

"He saw what Natsu could do the other day, he knows he has to go at him with his best. Plus it'd be disrespectful otherwise." Jordan spoke sagely.

Natsu was far from done though. He grabbed Curtis' ankle and forced him off his face, throwing him off balance. He then swung his left leg out, igniting it in the process.

**"Fire Dragon's Claw!"**

The speed of the attack suddenly increased, right before slamming into Curtis' right side. Part of his still unknown Stand had manifested there in order to lessen the damage somewhat, but he still felt the impact as it sent him flying. He managed to barely recover himself, landing in a handstand before flipping to his feet.

Curtis placed his hand on his side, feeling the area. His Stand had minimized the damage somewhat but that was definitely going to bruise. Despite the pain he was in, he couldn't help but smile as he looked up. "You're certainly limber to say the least."

Natsu leaped to his feet, from there everyone saw a little trail of blood dripping from his mouth. "Haha! Thanks for the compliment! You're not doin' too bad yourself!" he spoke as he wiped his mouth. He then ignited his fists and retook his fighting stance. "Let's keep it going! I'm getting fired up!"

_'I still felt that hit even with my Stand guarding the area. What's more, I could definitely feel the heat from his fire. Guess Mikey's theory was correct, the magic in this world can hurt our Stands, and by extension us. In that case, I better stop holding back. But I gotta admit, it's nice to cut loose every once in a while...' Curtis was thinking of how to proceed._

"_Un instant, s'il vous plaît._" He then spoke while raising a hand.

...

...

...

"...What?" Natsu asked in a confused manner.

"Oh, sorry. That's a habit I've picked up from Mikey after our extended time together. We both speak in our native languages whenever our adrenaline starts pumping, like when we're excited or agitated, but that's neither here nor there. I said 'One moment please.' The reason being is that I see how seriously you're taking this fight even though it was supposed to be a friendly little spar. And I find your determination to win to be quite inspiring. As such, I see it fit to inform you that I am now about to manifest my Stand in order to meet your determination head on and give you a proper bout. It'd be disrespectful, dishonourable, and unbecoming of a _gentilhomme_ such as myself to do otherwise. I hope you understand." Curtis spoke.

Natsu and most of the crowd were, for their part, blown away. Despite just meeting these newcomers, the level of respect this one had was quite astounding. Elfman even gave one of his signature cries of "THAT'S SO MANLY!" from the background. Did he cry a little? Yes. But they were manly tears.

"That's... actually kinda respectable." Lucy couldn't help but say. Her own respect for Curtis just elevated to a grand new height.

"Just fight you pussy!" Jordan shouted rudely.

"SAY THAT TO ME AGAIN, AND I WILL SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, YOU WILL BE FLOSSING YOUR TEETH WITH MY BOOT LACES YOU POINTY-HEADED FUCK MUNCH!"

And that extra respect was now gone.

Fixing the snarling visage on his face, Curtis turned back towards Natsu, "So, are we in agreement?"

Natsu actually looked as if he thought it over for a bit before speaking, "I have no idea what a 'genti-whatever' is, but if this means you're going all out then bring it!" He ignited his hands again, "I wanna see how I do against your fire guy!"

Curtis cocked his eyebrow questioningly, "My fire guy? What're you-" He stopped himself midway, looking like he had some sort of realization, before trying to hold back a bout of laughter, only to fail.

Natsu just looked on, confused. "Hey what's so funny?!"

"Hehehe...Calm down Natsu, I'm not laughing at you per say, I'm laughing at what you said. Stands don't work like that. As every person, and thereby every soul is unique, then that means all Stands are as well. Sure there might be other Stands out there that use fire as the basis of their abilities, but there will never be a second **[Burner Heart].**" Curtis explained.

The crowd shared a look of understanding at this. "So he's saying that all Stands are one of a kind, right?" Lucy asked for confirmation.

Tyson smirked, "You catch on quick, guess you're not all tits after all."

"Thank you- WAIT A MINUTE!" That got more laughter from Tyson.

"Alright then, so what does yours do?" Natsu asked.

Curtis kept smiling, "To put it simply, my goes in a more... _opposite_ direction."

Now Natsu looked confused, again,"What do you mean 'opposite'?" But just as he asked that, he noticed that the air around him had grown cold. The temperature in the area was dropping rapidly. Everyone nearby was affected too, some in the crowd began to shiver slightly. "What the-?" Natsu's own question showed him something else, it was so cold that his exhaled breath was visible. He came to the only logical conclusion as to why.

...

...

...

"...Gray, stop screwing around! This is my fight!" He yelled at the shirtless man in the crowd.

"I'm not doing anything Flame-Brain! Look in front of you!" Gray countered.

Doing just that (albeit reluctantly), he saw that Curtis was surrounded by a nearly transparent mist, as if he was standing in the eye of a storm. It swirled around him before moving in the the surrounding air, blending in and vanishing. And Curtis had assumed a new pose, keeping his right hand near his face, while at the same time having his right arm bent towards himself with his hand kept straight with his fingers pointing downwards. Before suddenly crouching and taking a large leap upwards. His heft knee was brought up to chest height with his left elbow resting on it, his hand close to his face, while his right leg was perfectly straight and the back of his right hand was on his hip.

While he was up there, a figure had emerged beside him. Though it was obscured by a new, much thicker cloud of mist, they could tell it was humanoid in appearance. Strangely enough, it seemed to be resting on its right knee with its left leg bent in front of it, left hand on the thigh. It also seemed to be looking upwards whilst pointing dramatically towards Natsu. At this point, both had descended back towards the ground, causing the mist to disperse. While Curtis stood with both arms raised behind his head, the second figure caught everyone's eye.

It stood at Curtis' height and had a slim build, and its head, shoulders, biceps, and torso icy blue in color. It possessed a somewhat pointed chin, and white lenses for eyes. In the center of its forehead was a shape that looked like a star with a snowflake inside of it. It also seemed to have three gas-mask filters embedded right into its face, one where the mouth should be, and one in each cheek. It wore a silver colored armor piece that only covered its pectorals, leaving its shoulders and surprising toned abdominals fully exposed. On the front was a motif resembling a heart shaped icicle and was pink in color. Its forearms were navy blue and had triangular points where it met the elbows, giving them a similar design to Curtis' shirt. The lower half seemed to be clad in black pants that stopped at the knees. From the knees down, its legs appeared to be metallic. To finish off, it seemed to have a pair of tanks of some kind attached to its back.

This was Curtis' Stand

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

The appearance of this new figure brought a round of awed shouts and pointing. Actually being able to see a Stand for the first time was quite the experience. So much so they could actually look past all the over dramatic posing.

"Wow... it's completely different from how Mikey's Stand looked." Lucy had seen **[Burner Heart]** as imposing, due to its muscular frame and glaring look, but this new Stand had the same air about it with its streamlined body and a sort of grace to its movements.

"Man, that thing looks almost perfectly human." Gray uttered, actually surprised at the appearance.

* * *

**(The Fight)**

Curtis finally turned back towards Natsu, "Sorry for the wait. Tell me, what do you think? It's no 'fire guy', but it's impressive in its own right."

"AWESOME!" Natsu's reaction was not exactly what Curtis was expecting. He had stars in his eyes and was moving around excitedly like a hyperactive child. "The jumping and the posing and all the other stuff was so cool!"

The Stands user sweatdropped at his reaction. "O...kay... you wanna get back to fighting?"

"Oh right." Natsu snapped out of it and resumed his own stance, "Hope you're ready, cause I'm getting fired up!"

Curtis gave an excited 'hmph' and assumed a new pose, standing straight and pointing his right hand upward while extending his thumb and index finger, while wrapping his left arm around it and extending that hands thumb, index finger, and little finger. "Then come at me."

And Natsu did just that, igniting his hands again and leaping towards his opponent, who made no movement to stop him.

"What is he doing?! Natsu's right in front of him!" Lucy exclaimed as the pinkette got closer.

"Wait for it" Ray spoke.

**"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Natsu's fist was seconds away from striking Curtis, and he did not seem to be holding back in this instance. But part way there, the Stand stuck its right arm out in front of itself, before dramatically swinging it in front of itself while making a fist.

In that instant, Natsu felt his momentum abruptly stop, leaving him just a foot away from Curtis. Then he felt his hands go numb. He didn't have a moment to ponder on the way for both as the Stand leapt forward and swung its metallic into leg Natsu's face, sending him into the ground.

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

"Wait, what just happened? He stopped out of nowhere!" Lucy was surprised at the abrupt change in the flow of battle, as were several others in the audience. But a select number were able to see what had happened right before the moment of impact.

"Ray, d'ya catch that?" Tyson asked.

"Yes. I'm getting better at tracking nearly instantaneous events." The quiet blonde replied.

"Wait, catch what?" The other blonde asked.

Jordan glanced at her, "You'll see in a second. But just know that this idiot isn't holding back."

* * *

**(The Fight)**

Natsu groaned as his head spun from the surprise attack. He brought a hand up to clutch at his aching cranium, only for him to feel something extremely cold. He recoiled and finally got a look at his hand, only to find that both of them were completely encased in an odd crystal blue substance. It was definitely solid and perfectly spherical, like the balls he sees children play with every now and then. And when he got a look towards his foot, it actually looked as if it were made of this odd substance, but he could still feel his actual foot, so he knew this substance was just a shell. But a look of realization crossed his features, faster than most realizations do cross his mind. Because he knew what his appendages had been covered in, because it had happened to him multiple times before at the hands of a certain male stripper.

"This- This is ice?! You covered me in ice?!" He asked/yelled at his opponent.

"Wow, you catch on fast. You must've been a detective in a past life or something." There was a lot of obvious yet friendly sarcasm in Curtis' voice, but it was still enough to make Natsu twitch in anger.

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

"How did he do that? The ice appeared so fast I couldn't even see it happening!" Lucy exclaimed to the others standing beside her.

"Are you sure you're not doing anything Gray?" Happy asked, looking suspicious.

"I'm not! I can pulverize Dragon-Breath over there on my own time!" The accused rebutted.

"Yeah, that's Curtis' Stand at work. With small targets like the hands and feet, its ability doesn't need much time in order to work." Skitt explained, never taking his eyes off the fight.

"And just what is its ability?" Elfman asked from the side.

"Eh, you'll find out soon enough." Tyson said as he sat up against a crate with his arms behind his head.

* * *

**(The Fight)**

"So your Stand thing makes ice, big deal!" Natsu superheated his frozen limbs, causing the ice to melt almost instantly. "It's nothing I can't handle, so don't toy with me!"

Curtis narrowed his eyes at Natsu, "Trust me, I've got more to show, but I'd like it if you'd stop calling them 'things'. They have names, and I mean beyond the general term, Stands. You see, here's a bit of knowledge from a certain book back home: 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was anything made that was made'. Did you get all that?" Natsu gave Curtis another confused look. Not only that, it seemed the rest of the crowd was pondering on his words as well. "If you're not getting it yet, let me put it in another way: Our Stands are born from our souls, so I believe that they can be considered as living beings in their own way. That's part of the reason we give them names, because _nothing_ can't become _something_ if it has no name. It's as simple as that. So we give them names so they can be a real something. Mikey has **[Burner Heart]**, Ray has **[Storm Rider]**," He paused to gesture at his Stand which floated by his side, "And I have my own Stand. **[Hazy Winter]**. That is its name. So it is not simply a 'thing'. Either call it a Stand, or by name. Do you understand?"

"Oh." Natsu blinked as he stared at the silver haired gentleman. There was a period of silence as all Natsu did was stare at Curtis who then just sighed sighed.

"You didn't understand a single word of what I just said, did you?"

"None whatsoever," The dragon slayer said clueless.

The mages on the sidelines sweat dropped, planting their faces in their hands. "Idiot," was the simultaneous comment.

"But I think I get your point," Curtis raised an eyebrow in annoyed disbelief, "You want me to call your Stand by name? Then both of you can bring it on!"

Curtis smiled, 'Well said!"

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**A photo of all the guilds current members appears.**_

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

"Still though," Cana muttered, actually putting the bottle of booze she had in hand down for a moment, "Despite Natsu breaking the tension with his idiocy, that was unexpectedly deep."

"You guys really take this stuff seriously." Happy said to his fellow talking cat.

"Of course we do. They aren't just abilities of ours, our Stands come from our souls, they are like our identities. And more than that, how do I explain it..." he rubbed a paw to his head in concentration before snapping to attention, "I got it! Lucy!" He pointed to the blonde, who gave him a surprised and confused look while pointing at herself, "Would you be insulted if we refer to your spirits as simple 'things'?"

"What?! Of course I would! Because they're not things, they have lives and personalities... oh, I think I get it now." She and others saw the point he was trying to make.

"Now you're all getting it. An insult to our abilities is an insult to us directly!" Skitt announced as everyone turned back to the fight.

* * *

**(The Fight)**

"While I'm happy that you finally understand the importance of our identities, that still doesn't mean you are going to win this battle, Natsu!" Curtis declared, "I'm fully aware of your abilities thanks to Happy and the spectacle you put on back at the port. Meanwhile, you've only begun to question what myself and **[Hazy Winter]** can do! So, what is your next step?" The ice Stand floated beside its master, arms spread and fingers splayed in anticipation.

Natsu gave a wolfish grin, "I may not know what you can do, but...", Natsu's hands were encased in flames once more. "While you may have gotten a few good hits before hand, I could tell that I'm still a better fighter!" He then made another dash towards Curtis.

_'Suffice to say, he's correct.' _Curtis thought, _'He's probably trained for this all his life. Meanwhile, I've only got a few years of actual fight training under my belt. Remove our special abilities entirely and this would be like a champion boxer going up against a rookie who just moved into sparring. I could probably land a few attacks, maybe out of luck, before getting overwhelmed entirely. But thankfully...'_

**[Hazy Winter]** motioned his hand in Natsu's direction. Seeing what was coming, the fire breather leaped up just as the Stand closed its fist, making ice form right where his legs were previously. He then sent a short blast of fire from his feet, causing him to rocket towards Curtis at incredible speed. But Curtis smirked as **[Hazy Winter] **clenched both hands,

'_...This fight is _far_ from ordinary.'_

And after the spot in the air Natsu jettisoned himself away from turned into a large icicle which was then launched at the dragon slayer, who sensed it approaching from behind and turned around in mid-air to try and strike at it, only for his flaming hands to be frozen like before. Still, even like that he managed to land a punch on the approaching ice brick, causing it to shatter into dozens of pieces and break the ice off his hands again. But just as he flipped himself around to continue his course, another icicle was shot forward like a missile.

**"Fire Dragon's Claw!"**

Natsu's counter-attack came in the form of a powerful roundhouse kick that shattered the ice. Only for two more icicles to go flying at him.

**"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"**

Natsu leaped into the air as his arms became coated in yellow-orange flames. He swung his arms forward as the fire took on the shape of a dragon's wings, clashing harshly with ice and causing it to evaporate almost instantly, creating a thick veil of mist that obscured Curtis' line of sight.

_'Dammit! I can't see! Where did he go?!'_ Curtis thought as he frantically searched for his opponents location.

**"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Only to turn to his right and see Natsu rapidly approaching his Stand with a flaming fist cocked back! _'Shit! I won't be able to counter it in time!'_ Natsu's fist impacted **[Hazy Winter's] **right cheek, and a similar indentation appeared on Curtis' face as he was sent flying with blood spilling from his mouth.

Curtis managed to get back to his feet and wipe the blood from his mouth, panting from the pain in his face. Natsu landed on the ground a few feet away from his opponent and grinned toothily as he lay crouched on the ground.

"Is that all you got?" The fire dragon slayer said cockily and with excitement.

Curtis just narrowed his eyes as his Stand returned to his side.

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

"Man, this is getting intense!" That was the general consensus as everyone watched as the fight proceeded. Everyone couldn't believe their eyes at how powerful Curtis' Stand was proving to be. Gray in particular was fairly intrigued at how the spirit was producing ice from seemingly nothing.

"This guy is sending a lot of ice everywhere. If I didn't know you better Gray, I'd say that he might be close to you in terms of raw output!" Loke surmised, casting a glance at the shirtless mage.

"Well mine can't nullify Flame-Brain's fire like this guy," Gray responded, "I'm still trying to figure out how he's actually making it. We already know they don't have magic, so where does the ice come from?"

"It's heat."

All the present wizards turned to the one who just talked, which was the soft-spoken Ray. "That's the main component of **[Hazy Winter's] **ability. It's based on heat."

Gray and Loke blushed a little at the sound of her soft voice, but Happy had a question, "Wait, now I'm confused. What does heat have to do with the ice?"

"**[Hazy Winter's] **ability," Ray began, "Is that it can vaporize the moisture in a chosen area of space. When that happens, all the surrounding heat is absorbed, causing the temperature to fall to a low enough point that ice is formed. From there, he can launch it in his opponents direction to attack."

The wizards had wide eyed looks at the information they were just told. But then they realized that it made sense when explained that way.

"And that's also why Natsu's fire was snuffed out when the ice was formed near or on him." Ray continued, "Even if it is created by magic, fire means that combustion is taking place. Fire is made when molecules are being excited sufficiently enough to combine with the release of energy which then energizes other molecules and so on, causing heat to be made. **[Hazy Winter]** turns heat into ice, therefore, without heat, a fire cannot begin. If it becomes cool enough, it can't keep burning. Understand? Fire is heat, and the process cannot happen if none is given out, so it is forced to stop."

This bit of information truly surprised everyone. The science behind the ability was nearly mind boggling.

"Wait, but Natsu was able to land a hit on his Stand. What about its power?" Happy asked. While happy that his friend landed a hit, all the science talk had confused him.

"As strong as it may seem, no ability is absolute or flawless. Curtis needs to have a line sight on his target before he can cause ice to form on them, and even so they can still move out of the way if they're quick enough. Natsu's impromptu smoke screen gave him the opening he needed." Jordan explained.

"So it sounds dangerous but it can be worked around or even bested." Loke thought out loud.

"Plus it doesn't really seem as versatile as Gray's magic if he can only make simple objects." Happy noted.

"Unfortunately, that ain't entirely true." Tyson interjected. "Take a good look at the ice that was formed on the ground where Natsu was standin'." The wizards did so and took a closer look at the ice formation that appeared on the ground. To their surprise, they weren't just formless chunks of ice, they seemed to be perfect replicas of Natsu's legs!

"One of the most dangerous parts of **[Hazy Winter's]** power, is Curtis' precision with it. Like Skitt said, most of the time, the smaller the target, the more precise the ice structure becomes. Those ain't just copies, those are exact casts of his feet made from ice. If you were to put them right next to the originals, you'd find everythin' from the wrinkles in the toe joints, and even the length of the toenails to be exact. **[Hazy Winter]** takes the heat away from a spot Curtis chose, and can be done so with such precision that the ice that forms looks like it was made by a world class sculptor."

"Ok, not that this hasn't been informative, but I have to ask, why're you telling us all of this?" Gray interjected.

Tyson glared at him, "Because, Stripperella, Mikey told us to." His tone was serious despite the insult, "All of this, from the fight to the info we're dumpin' on ya, it was the Boss's idea. This whole matter is because of the delicate subject of trust. If we're gonna be stuck here for the foreseeable future, then we're gonna have to trust ya with important info, includin' what we're capable of. Curtis just happened to volunteer to expose himself in front of y'all." He walked a short distance away, gesturing with his hands as he continued speaking. "This is our way of showin' that we have put our trust in ya. But know this...,"

Ths pose he struck was as outrageous and dramatic as it was impossible. In two swift movements, he sent his legs into nearly forward splits, before angling his upper half downwards so he was nearly parallel with the ground while pointing at the wizards with his left hand.

"Betray that trust, and you'll know our wrath."

.

..

...

The atmosphere became quite unsettling after the greenette's declaration. All the wizards could do was stare at him as he righted himself.

"...Hehehe... this... this is another one of your jokes right? You really got us there..." Loke broke the silence with a nervous laugh, only to blink and see Tyson appear in front of him like a ghost. The others could barely register it happening, and some couldn't at all.

"Do I sound like I'm joking, Pretty Boy?" Tyson's tone held no humor, even as he began to pick his teeth with his left pinkie finger. Even though Loke was a few centimeters taller than Tyson, his glare coupled with how his teeth were showing made him very intimidating. It was impossible to tell if he was doing it on purpose.

"Whether you're the boss of a company pickin' out an employee, or just someone pickin' who to be friends with, the most important quality you gotta consider is how trustworthy they are. It don't matter what someone knows or what they can do, if you're incapable of trustin' 'em," He took his finger out of his mouth and inspected it, "Then they're worth about as much as the food scraps between your teeth." He flicked the invisible object off his finger, then pointed at Loke, "Ya get me?"

Loke gulped, "Yes. I understand." He answered evenly.

Tyson's glare continued for a few more seconds, before his usual joking smile went across his face. "Glad ya understand! Look forward to workin' with ya in the future. By the by, invest in some new cologne, I don't know what girls here like, but to me ya kinda smell like cat piss and desperation."

"Wha- HEY!" Loke indignantly yelled once he registered the insult, and was now subject to Tyson's hyena-like laughter. Those who listened in on the conversation sweat-dropped at how the tension was broken, but turned back to the fight.

But in the back of the wizards minds, Tyson's words would echo in for a long time...

* * *

**(The Fight)**

Curtis and Natsu continued their staredown on the battlefield, a tiny dribble of blood going down the formers lip.

Natsu broke the silence.

"So, what'd you think of that?" the pinkette asked with his hands moving to his hips.

Curtis stood up straight as his visage evened out, he then wiped the last bit of blood away from his mouth.

"...Not bad."

"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?! I SENT YOU FLYING!" Natsu snapped at the meager compliment.

"Heh. Alright, you got me back there, I admit it. You threw off my rhythm and left me open for your attack. I commend you for that." Curtis said respectfully. "Now then," **[Hazy Winter] **appeared by his side again, "Care to get back to it?"

Natsu readied himself once more, "Let's go!"

And with that, Curtis leapt backwards, allowing **[Hazy Winter] **and Natsu to advance towards each other. Natsu's eyes widened when he noticed just how quick the movement speed of his floating opponent was. **[Hazy Winter's]** movements left a trail of dust behind him as it reared back its right leg, aiming to launch a at Natsu. However, Natsu dropped down and quickly managed to channel his forward momentum and slid between the Stand's legs. He pushed himself to his feet and went to deliver a kick to the Stand's back, but Curtis grinned from the sidelines before more ice wrapped around Natsu's legs, connecting them like cuffs, stopping the attack. Natsu lost his balance for just a moment and fell. He was already working on melting the ice, but **[Hazy Winter] **made its move, launching an incredibly fast barrage of kicks with its metallic legs.

_**"SHUUUURIYA!"**_

**[Hazy Winter] **let out a loud battle cry as its leg impacted Natsu's chest and abdominal area multiple times, knocking the wind out of Natsu's lungs, however, Natsu recovered quicker than Curtis would have anticipated and his Stand was met with a powerful left hook to the face that sent spittle flying from its users lips. Immediately after that, Natsu delivered a right hook and then grabbed the Stand by the right arm and spun around rapidly, his grip was powerful enough that Curtis grunted from the pressure. Once he built up enough momentum he threw away the ice Stand towards its user before taking a deep breath. His stomach swelled slightly as magic and air filled his body.

**"Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

The stream of fire raced towards both Stand and user, who, instead of defending or countering, chose to dodge, both figures dashed out of the way of the attack in opposite directions, managing to get out of the way in the nick of time. Curtis rolled to the ground before skidding to a stop.

_'That was close!' _Curtis thought, _'Big continuous attacks like that would produce heat faster than it can be taken away, getting rid of any ice I could make._ _**[Hazy Winter's] **ability would be useless against that unless I pull _that _out. Gotta watch out for those in the future if there are opponents with fire magic like Natsu. Still though,'_

"...I think we've dragged this out long enough."

"Eh?" was the questioned noise from Natsu and some of the crowd.

"I mean I'm ready to end this. Now that you've given me the opportunity to do so." Curtis smirked. **[Hazy Winter] **reappeared by his side, leaning slightly forward with its head tilted and all of its fingers clenched. "Hope you can handle what comes next."

* * *

(The Crowd)

"Oh shit, he's doin' that? He really is trying to end it." Tyson had a surprised look on his face. The others on his team had similar looks.

"Wait, what's he doing?" Lucy asked.

"Playing his trump card." was the simple answer Skitt gave her.

"Think about it for a moment," Jordan explained, "**[Hazy Winter] **turns heat into ice. And just what has Natsu been creating with his fire this whole time?"

The handful of guild members thought about it for one second, before snapping up in realization.

* * *

**(The Fight)**

Natsu could feel the surrounding temperature gradually lower. His exhaled breath became visible, and it almost seemed as if the air was beginning to turn blue.

"What's going on?" He asked no one, and he actually began to shiver. Him! Keeping his focus on his opponent, he saw that he had shifted his Stand had shifted its stance. It crossed its arms, bringing its hands up to its shoulders.

"Time to feel the deep freeze, Natsu Dragneel! **[Hazy Winter]**..."

It brought its arms forward and to its sides,

**"A.O.T.P!"**

And swung them upwards. Then everything went white.

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

Everyone watching could only gape at the sight in front of them.

Why wouldn't they?

It isn't everyday that an empty field turns into a frozen wasteland!

The entire battle area, a twenty meter radius ending just in front of all the spectators, had been frozen. The various spots of heat that had been produced throughout the duration of the battle had been frozen into solid, abstract shapes. Making the area look like an ice rink filled with statues. The only untouched spot in it all was the small patch of grass the Curtis himself was standing upon. Gray looked surprised and fairly impressed with it all.

"H-H-Holy s-shit!" Cana stuttered out. Not out of fear, but because wearing so little when the temperature took a massive nose dive was not the ideal situation.

"Yeah, That was our reaction when he did this for the first time too." Skitt was just fine. He had fur, and he had some tolerance to the cold.

"W-W-Wh-What j-just- h-h-ha-happened?!" Lucy asked, shivering as well. The tiny clothes now feeling like a bad idea.

"That's **[Hazy Winter's] **'special move' as Curtis calls it. **A.O.T.P **pushes its ability to its maximum, causing all the heat within a large radius to be absorbed all at once, leaving all that ice. And since Natsu was flinging fire around like no tomorrow, there was plenty of heat to absorb." Ray explained. She, like the other Stand users, were unaffected by the familiar cold.

"Okay, but what does '**A.O.T.P**' stand for?" Gray had to ask.

"We don't know. We've asked before but he ain't budging on the secret." Tyson answered.

* * *

**(The Fight)**

Speaking of which, the icy Stand user in question let out a shaky, tired breath, panting with his hands on his knees. Watching his visible exhale rise before vanishing.

_'That's still pretty exhausting.' _He thought, _'**A.O.T.P **__is my final trump card for a reason. Exerting all that power at once leaves me spiritually and physically drained.'_ **[Hazy Winter]** reappeared by its master's side, only this time, it appeared blurry and somewhat hard to make out, like it was on a staticky television screen. _'I've barely got enough energy to keep my Stand manifested, but at least I didn't pass out like the last time. I guess that's progress. For now, let's see if we can't dig Natsu out of the practical iceberg I just left him in.'_

**"Fire Dragon's..."**

Curtis' inner monologue was cut off as a familiar voice shouted from above. Casting his gaze upwards, his eyes widened when he saw Natsu with his whole body enveloped in fire and rocketing towards his current position!

**"Sword Horn!"**

_'Impossible!'_ Curtis thought incredulously,_ 'He dodged my attack?! It happened in a fraction of a second yet he was able to escape my range! Just how refined are his instincts and his reaction speed?!' _He made a movement to get away but stumbled almost immediately. _'Damn it! All of my energy went into that last move, I won't be able to dodge in time!'_ Racking his tired brain for an idea, one came as Natsu was seconds away from the moment of impact. _'I hope this works...!'_

Using the last bit of his Stand's energy, Curtis had **[Hazy Winter] **create one last chunk of ice, and sent it hurtling towards the side of Natsu's head. It evaporated almost immediately after making contact but the job was done. Natsu was thrown for a loop and his attack was thrown off course. Instead of going directly towards Curtis, Natsu veered off and would land a few good feet away.

* * *

**(The Crowd)**

"Haha! Looks like ice proves to be better than fire!" Gray pointed and laughed.

"Eh, bit of a shame." Tyson commented. "Curtis' big moves look like modern art, shame it's gonna be destroyed by a tiny... meteorite..." His eyes widened in a shocked manner, along with the rest of his team," Oh shitballs! Everybody down!"

"Wh-"

**_BBBOOOOOMMMM!_**

The moment Natsu made impact, a giant explosion engulfed the battlefield. It was more concussive force than a heated explosion, but the result was a force that had floored the audience, and all the ice had shattered and started to rain down on and pelt everyone like hail. Clouds of dust engulfed the area.

"Ugggh...What just happened?!" Lucy asked... anybody as she found herself pinned underneath Elfman's giant body.

"It was a shockwave." Ray had answered from behind a rock. By her side were her other teammates. "The surrounding air had been cooled greatly by all the ice Curtis made, and then it was rapidly heated back up by Natsu's attack. The fast change in pressure created a shockwave. like when lightning strikes during a storm, the thunder that follows is just like that."

'I think she was being rhetorical Ray." Tyson commented off-handedly.

The dust had begun to settle on the field, now a little more than a crater due to the force of impact and the explosion. Both Natsu and Curtis were lying across from each other, the former had swirls in his eyes and looking like he wasn't getting up anytime soon, the latter was definitely knocked out, but seemingly unharmed.

Curtis' team and the more 'noteworthy' members of Fairy Tail made their way over to the two combatants, where they managed to wake up, but had trouble moving.

"Are you two okay?" Lucy asked as she looked them over.

"I feel like I spent all day on a train... and then it fell into the water..." Natsu said in a sick tone while looking pale.

"I may be absolutely exhausted... but if you vomit and any of it gets on me, I will shove an icicle into your ear..." Curtis answered tiredly.

"I think they're good." Jordan said plainly.

They were in the process of helping the two fighters back to their feet when a new voice yelled:

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!"

An old voice that the wizards knew well.

They turned to see Master Makarov standing next to Michael, who looked impassive.

The mages all began sweating and looking around frantically, trying to find an answer for the man they all saw as a parent.

"Like I informed you on the way here, Master," when michael spoke up, "I told my team to engage in a little spar with one of your members in order to test their abilities. It appears that we have arrived at the result of that."

"I remember, I just wanted their attention. Plus it's fun to scare them sometimes." the Master answered back, cheekily.

The guild sweat dropped at the old man's actions.

Michael strode forward and helped his friend off the ground, "So Curtis, in your opinion, are they good?"

The silverette rolled his neck with an audible crack, "Rough around the edges, but I think we can work with them."

Michael smiled and turned his gaze to Makarov, "Then there is our answer."

Curtis turned back towards Natsu, "Is it okay to call this a draw for now?"

Natsu frowned a bit, "Yeah... I guess."

"No need to look so down." Curtis offered, "You had me on the ropes there. And you definitely had me beat in raw power. My Stand is only about as strong as I am, its ability is where all the energy goes. You certainly would've won if not for that. So chin up and improve, alright?"

Natsu grinned weakly. "Yeah... thanks for that... Can't wait to kick your butt for real next time."

Curtis laughed, "Yeah, we'll see. For now, I would like some tea, and a soft place to lie down." With that said, he and the rest of the team along with Makarov made their way back to the guild hall, the rest soon followed afterwards.

"Gotta admit though, for a supposed test it certainly was entertaining. Probably should have made a betting pool." Cana commented.

"That new guy showed he was a real MAN!" Elman shouted.

"All I can say is, it never gets old seeing Dragon-Breath over there getting his butt whooped." Gray joked.

"It was exciting to say the least." Lucy said, "At least they weren't seriously hu- WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES GRAY?!"

"GODDAMMIT!"

* * *

**Guild Hall: 5 Minutes Later**

With the fight settled, everyone had proceeded back into the guild hall, staying on the lower floor as the Master had a big announcement for them. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy were sitting at one such table having a discussion.

"What do you think the Master's gotta say?" Happy asked.

'Well I'm pretty sure that it has something to do Mikey and the others." Lucy answered.

"Well I hope they stick around, I want the chance to fight them all!" Natsu yelled to anyone who would listen.

"Oh please," Gray rebuked, "They're just gonna be repeats of what happened earlier."

"You shut up! He called it a tie Stripper!"

"Just to make you feel better Flame-Brain!"

Lucy sighed in exasperation at those two as they butted heads again, only for Makarov to walk along the counter of the bar and loudly clear his throat, getting back everybody's attention.

"Attention all Fairy Tail wizards! I am pleased to announce that as of now, six new members have officially joined our family! Grant them a warm welcome!"

Six figures then leapt over the counter, showing themselves as the sextet. Each of them had landed in a different pose as they hit the ground.

Michael had stood up straight with his left held being flat and parallel with the ground, while the back of his right hand was against his forehead. In the palm of his right hand was a bright red Fairy Tail mark.

To his left, Ray landed sliding on her fully extended left leg while keeping her right slightly bent. Her arms were at chest level, with her left arm curled inward and her fingers pointed towards the ground. Her right arm was the same but her fingers pointed upwards. And her head was cocked to the side. Her right sleeve and glove were rolled up, showing a yellow mark on her wrist.

On the far left was Tyson, who landed with his knees almost touching his chest. His left arm was touching the ground while his right was extended in a punching motion. His head was almost between his knees but his eyes gazed towards the audience. They saw a lime green mark on his left bicep.

To Michael's immediate right was Curtis, who was in a sitting position with his back to the crowd. His right leg was placed atop the other as his gaze was turned back to the audience. His mark was silver and located on his ankle.

To the far right was Jordan, whose legs were bent slightly, his left hand was on his hip and his right arm hung in front of his torso with his fist clenched. His mark was brownish black and on the right side of his neck.

And directly in front of Michael was Skitt, whose back was to the crowd with his left arm bent behind himself, while his right arm was straight out in front of him. On his back was a bright pink mark.

**"Pleased to meet you."** they all said.

.

..

...

...Once again, the guild was stunned silent at the sight of the sextet. Only a few members were actually impressed by what they saw.

_'Déjà vu...' _Lucy thought.

"...Jeez, these guys have a wacky sense of style." Gray said.

At that instant, Tyson got in his face, "What was that!? We got more style in one eyelash than you've got in your whole body! And at least I ain't naked!"

It's true. Gray was in his undies again.

"SHIT!"

"Yeah, not so big now huh, Ice Dick?!"

"What was that Snaggletooth?!"

Tyson slugged Gray and sent him into someone's table, sending food flying, "Lay off my teeth asshole!"

From there, another fight broke out as food was flung, tables and chairs were broken, and everybody was punching everybody else. Even Curtis and Jordan got back to it.

"I thought you said they wouldn't start any fights!" Makarov cried at Michael, who was sitting on a bar stool with Ray and Skitt. Lucy and Happy hid behind the counter.

"I said I wouldn't start any fights. _Mi fratelli_ are another matter, and I made no promises." He responded and he dodged someone's mug.

Skitt then turned to those who hid behind them, "We're in for a wild ride aren't we?"

**"Aye."** Lucy and Happy responded.

* * *

_And so, our heroes have officially joined the Fairy Tail guild!_

_What comes next for our intrepid wanderers?_

_And will they make a name for themselves here?_

_Find out... Next Time!_

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

**_／|__**

**_〈 To BE CONTINUED…_**

**_＼|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣_**

* * *

**_A new card appears, revealing [Hazy Winter]._**

**_Stand Name; [Hazy Winter]_**

**_Classification: Artificial Humanoid_**

**_Type: Long Range_**

**_Stand Master: Curtis Lance_**

**_Power- B_**

**_Speed- B_**

**_Range- Ability (20m MAX) From Master (3m)_**

**_Durability- C_**

**_Precision- A_**

**_Potential- B_**

**_References: Hazy Shade of Winter by "The Bangles"_**

**_All Over the Place, The Bangles studio album_**

**_Ability:Cryokinesis_**

**_[Hazy Winter] can vaporize the moisture in targeted parts of the surrounding area, absorbing heat and causing the temperature to drop so low that ice forms. He can then send the ice in any direction for a damaging attack. He can also target the surfaces of an opponent's body in order to distract them or freeze them in place. His special move A.O.T.P (short for "All Over the Place") allows him to do so over his maximum range all at once._**

**_Its metal legs also allow for powerful kicks._**

**_Curtis must have a line of sight on his target in order to form the ice, and larger targets take more time to freeze. Plus continuous heat can melt the ice faster than he can make it._**

* * *

**_AN: Chapter three is finally done. Again sorry for the wait, and sorry if my first fight isn't up to par._**

**_Normally, this is where I ask you to favorite and review, but I have an announcement before any of that..._**

**_._**

**_._**

**_._**

**_...I, ArchaicPhenominon, have a dream... and that dream... is to make this story the best JoJo crossover ever! Reviews, Follows, and Favorites in the triple digits, a TV Tropes page, maybe even people asking to make reaction stories or borrow my characters... I will aim for the top, and if you want to see me get there, Then offer your assistance any way you can..._**

**_...please fav and review..._**

**_C Ya..._**


	4. Chapter 4

AN:** Hello, I'm back again, hold your applause!**

**(Cricket Noises)**

**...That's gonna change one day. I promise you.**

**First off, I would like to thank you all for being patient with me all this time if you've been waiting for an update. Shit has been crazy everywhere for the past few months. Sorry if this chapter feels rushed.**

**Now, I want to give a big "thank you" to ****altajir95**** and ****MasterTheMadness64th****, now ****EliteOtaku333**** who have been nothing but supportive and friendly to me despite my fledgling writing career. Seriously, thank you both. Hopefully I can meet your expectations.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own no official content from either series. I do own my OC's, and the sweet ass cover art.**

**Enjoy my first "deviation from the canon" chapter…**

* * *

_Previously on The Most Bizarre Tail:_

_While Michael was having a private discussion with Master Makarov, his team was giving the summarized version of how they wound up in Earthland to the rest of the guild._

_And when Natsu issued a fighting challenge to the newcomers, Curtis used it as an opportunity to test his mettle against a magic user, while also following Michael's orders on seeing if they were trustworthy._

_During the fight, Curtis unveiled his Stand __**[Hazy Winter]**__, which had the ability to turn the heat Natsu gave off into pure ice, and his precision and finesse with his ability gave Natsu a run for his money at first. Though coupled with Natsu's raw power and tenacity, and a bit of science, the match ended in a tie, but mutual respect and trust was founded._

_Afterwards, the group officially joined Fairy Tail, and celebrated the only way both parties knew how, with fabulous posing, and a bar brawl._

_What surprises and adventures await them now as official members? And will it lead them to their friends? These questions and more will be answered… now!_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: The First Job! Thrills in the Night!**_

**Fairy Tail Guild Hall: Early Morning**

The sun had risen on a new day in Mongolia. Meaning another day for jobs and adventures to be had.

Guild members were beginning to trickle into the building, eager to get new jobs, or because the place was their source of breakfast.

Though, a slight issue was brewing in the back room of the building.

"Watch it!"

"You watch it!"

The back room is where the sextet spent the night. The aforementioned issue being that the number of them made the already limited space back there tighter than a medium t-shirt on a sumo wrestler.

Mirajane and Makarov had been listening to all the commotion back there, and were now outside the door. Now hearing exactly what was going on.

It didn't sound pretty.

"Get your damn foot out of my face Curtis!"

"Why don't you try moving instead Jordan!"

"Tyson keeps poking me with his ribs!"

"That just happens when I breathe Skitt!"

"Wait, everybody back up or we're gonna-!"

_**CRASH!**_

Both onlookers backed away from the door as the sextet tumbled through in a single pile, looking half-dressed and disheveled.

"Oh my, are you all alright?" Mira asked as she looked down at them.

Michael (who unfortunately was at the bottom of the pile) opened his bleary eyes and groaned out, "All in favor of getting our own place to live?"

"Aye…" five equally groaning voices sounded out.

Clearly, not the best way to start a morning.

* * *

**(Arc 1 Opening)**

**Play [Kekkai Sensen/ Blood Blockade Battlefront] Opening 1, "Hello World!" English Cover by [TYER]. Original by "Bump of Chicken"**

_**Looking past the open gate, twisted face, the heated afternoon**_

_**To see that yesterday's repeating, written here, the proof existing**_

(We see Magnolia in the middle of the night, the Fairy Tail guild hall in the distance.)

(The sun slowly begins to rise, turning the formerly night sky into a beautiful gradient of orange and lavender.)

_**Brand new day, I've got to say, still I'm bound to losing my way**_

_**Keep believing, relying, on empty vows and meanings**_

(The sun rises higher, causing a beautiful shine to fill the screen as night transitions to day.)

(Abruptly, the screen goes white, and then becomes somewhat grainy as it changes to a group photo of the sextet, posing and smiling. We zoom out to see it is one in a large series of photos containing different members of Fairy Tail. All of them were grouped together and arranged to resemble the guild symbol. The story title was written across it in a bold, graffiti font.)

_**Times I found myself retreating, somehow my fate decides what I'm to do**_

_**I'd do it well to keep on living, thinking back, it was embarrassing**_

(We see the six are walking through the streets of Magnolia, taking in all the sights and sampling the culture. Apparently unseen by everyone else, they each glow with the same aura from the first chapter, with Michael's being red.)

(We then change to the end of that day, where the picture was taken in a public park. Onlookers gave them odd stares for their posing, but they were paid no heed.)

_**Even if I can't recall, if I just try, I know I'll find it here**_

(A series of photos show their morning routine in the bathroom. Washing the sleep out of their eyes, fixing up their hair/fur, and brushing their teeth. Tyson got looked at weirdly for using a filing tool.)

(Another series shows them enjoying breakfast. Tyson, Ray, Skitt and Michael were speaking animatedly with each other, but Curtis and Jordan started yelling at each other for some reason or another, until Michael glared at them. They look away, a bit of fear in their eyes. The other three sigh in exasperation.)

_**If I let go, you will know, why every breath I'd hold**_

(They now walk towards the guild, smiles and confidence present on their faces.)

_**Look up into the sky, you with darkness in your eyes**_

_**It's because you're standing here, that this light is never ending**_

(We then see the shadow of a woman walking down the same path, carrying a large object above her with a single hand. Before we can see her face, it transitions to Michael's as he stares ahead, determination etched into his features.)

_**With the colors I have chosen, the world surrounds my empty self**_

_**With all the scars I've carried to escape this worthless hell**_

(The six now stand in a circle, watching in awe as the Fairy Tail wizards displayed their incredible abilities. Natsu breathing fire, Lucy summoning her spirits, and the various different spells used by its many other mages.)

(It then transitions to them standing on a pillar which seemed to overlook all of Fiore.)

_**In the middle, you're the hero, the world bestows upon us all**_

(We catch a glimpse of a man holding a giant scythe, floating above a group of unsavory characters. Then quickly transitioning to the scene of a large, monstrous shadow with the figure of a man standing before it. The man turns around to show he is wearing a demonic mask over his face.)

_**Before the curtain calls, you're on the stage until the fal**_**l**

(A shadow of a woman stands atop a stone pillar. She spreads her arms out and a flock of some sort of bird is summoned that rush towards the screen.)

_**What can I do? Pretending there's no pothole inside me**_

(There is a close up of Michael's fist as he clenches it in determination.)

_**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**_

(The camera snaps to his upper half as he poses. His left arm raised to shoulder height, elbow bent, and palm facing upwards. His right arm bent in front of him with his palm facing forward. **[Burner Heart]** appeared next to him, fists raised and ready to fight. Ray was shown with her arms crossed in front of her body, with her hands splayed open. **[Storm Rider]** hovered behind her. Curtis was leaning back with his chin on his right shoulder, the arm bent so his right hand was on his head while his left hand clutched his right shoulder. **[Hazy Winter]** was behind him, arms extended and fingers splayed as if it were about to use its abilities. The rest of his team adopted various poses as well, but their Stands were not revealed yet.)

_**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**_

(The camera pans out to reveal the rest of Fairy Tail behind them)

(Shadows of the team zoom by as we close in on Michael. He brings his right arm up showing the Fairy Tail symbol on his palm, which overtakes the screen)

_**The Most Bizarre Tail**_

* * *

**10 Minutes Later:**

The eyes of the sextet were intense.

All of their focus was being directed to a single target.

The tension in the air was so thick one would need a chainsaw just to cut through it.

Gray gave them a weird look and turned to Cana, "How long have they been staring at the mission board?"

"They were like that before I got here." The lush responded, taking another swig of her morning beer.

Yes. All that intensity was directed to the board where all of the Guild jobs are posted. If they glared at the sheets of paper any harder, they were likely to burst into flames. If you ask, "Them or the paper?", the answer would be "yes".

Mirajane couldn't help but watch them as she handed a tray of food to another guild member, specifically, the brunette in the red jacket. Not because he and his friends were currently making fools of themselves, but because of a certain scene she had witnessed yesterday...

* * *

_**F**_

_**L**_

_**A**_

_**S**_

_**H**_

_**B**_

_**A**_

_**C**_

_**K**_

* * *

**Yesterday:**

A young boy sat on a bench in the center of Magnolia. He had dark purple hair with bangs that covered most of his forehead, a teal T-shirt, pleated shorts and simple sandals.

His name was Romeo Conbolt and he was having what many would call, a sucky afternoon.

His father, and Fairy Tail wizard Macao, had gone on a mission to Mt. Hakobe to exterminate some troublesome monsters. He said he would return in three days.

It's been a little over a week since then.

Earlier he had begged Master Makarov to send people to help but the old man refused, and told him to buzz off as if he were some immature brat!

Sure he punched him in the face and stormed off but still!

"Mind if I sit here?"

Turning to the voice, Romeo saw one of the people who joined the guild today. Michael he thinks his name was.

Not getting an answer, Michael sat down next to the boy and looked out towards the horizon.

"Sunsets have always been a favorite thing of mine," He began, "The way the sun and the sky become this beautiful gradient that not even the most skilled artist can really capture. It's just breathtaking when you think about it."

Romeo kept silent.

"...That was a bit of a scene you caused back at the guild." Romeo flinched at that, "But I could see the point you had at the time." At that sentence, Romeo looked up at Michael with widened eyes.

"You were worried about your father, that's perfectly understandable. But now think about how your father feels. The mission was a matter of his pride. Pride is what will keep a man fighting when the storms rage because he refuses to be named in the list of the men who gave up, and it is what will make a man work hard for his family because he is too proud to let his children sleep hungry as long as he is alive… The rest of the guild understood that and tried to allow your father to keep his pride intact. But I feel they were unfair to you. You didn't want to lose someone you cared about. It was that simple." Michael spoke sagely.

The sound of sniffling hit his ears, and he saw the young boy starting to tear up.

"It's my fault," He whimpered, "These other kids were picking on me, saying that my Dad and the rest of Fairy Tail were a bunch of good-for-nothing drunks… I got really mad and I told him to go on an amazing job so they would stop saying that stuff. And now because of me he might be hurt or worse…!" The tears began to really flow down.

"It's not your fault." Michael put a gentle hand on the boy's head. "Your father took this job because he wanted to do something you could be proud of. Every job comes with risks, but he acknowledged that and braved it anyway because he loved you that much. And you want to know what I think he would say if he saw you now?"

"(Sniff) What?" Romeo looked up at him, expecting some sort of life changing answer.

"...I can't say." Michael answered.

Romeo felt his spirit drop.

"Not because I don't know," Romeo looked up again to see Michael pointing at something, "But because that's something you should say directly from him."

Romeo slowly turned his head and looked in the gestured direction to see Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and his father, a man of average height and slicked back dark blue hair, standing in front of him. A smile spread across Romeo's face when he saw his father. But then he gets a closer look, and seeing that his father was badly hurt. Tears filled his eyes as he remembered that it was his fault.

"D-Dad...I'm so sorry...I" Romeo stuttered out, as he started to shake slightly.

Suddenly Romeo felt his father hug him.

"I'm the one that should be sorry Romeo, I made you worry." Macao said, as he held his son tightly. "I'm sorry that I scared you."

"I-It's okay...I'm the son of a wizard after all." Romeo said, as he returned his father's embrace.

"And hey, if those uppity brats try to pick on you again, say this to 'em." Macao said, as smirked at Romeo. "'Can your dads beat nineteen monsters on their own? Cause mine sure can!' Okay?"

Romeo grinned at his father as a few tears fell from his eyes, and the two embraced. While Natsu and Lucy ventured off elsewhere.

Michael watched the touching moment from his position with a smile on his face, proud at the reconciliation.

"...You know, most find the act of eavesdropping unbecoming."

Following his statement, Mirajane stepped out from behind him. "I wouldn't call what I did eavesdropping exactly."

"Fair enough. So what brought you out here Ms. Strauss?"

"Well first of all, you can just call me Mira. Secondly, I just came to check on Romeo after he ran off."

"Well then, Mira, as you could see from here, that situation has resolved itself."

"I did see," Mira smiled at him, "And I think it was very sweet of you to speak to him like that."

Michael shrugged with his hands in his pockets, "Think nothing of it. All I did was talk, Natsu and Lucy are the ones who brought his father back." Michael's face turned melancholy, "I'm glad they were successful, a child shouldn't have to grow up without their parents around."

"You sound like you speak from experience…"

"Heh, sadly many people can. Let's just say I didn't have the best relationship with my father and leave it there."

Mira placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Well there's no need to feel despondent. You and your friends are part of Fairy Tail now. Everybody here has felt similar pain before, so we will understand and we will all be willing to listen." She smiled even brighter, "We are all family now."

Michael's face turned back to a happy visage, "Thank you Mira, I'll take you up on that one of these days. And also, feel free to call me Mikey. I think it's only fair that we share nicknames."

He then straightened out his jacket, "Now then, if I recall the legal drinking age if this world is seventeen, so I have to make sure Tyson doesn't go overboard." He stuck a hand out towards Mira, "Care to accompany me?"

Mira smiled as her face heated up, "My what a gentleman."

Linking arms, the two then proceeded to walk back to the guild hall. Both feeling strangely at peace.

...it was then ruined when they got back, because Tyson drank too much and instigated another bar brawl.

_**F**_

_**L**_

_**A**_

_**S**_

_**H**_

_**B**_

_**A**_

_**C**_

_**K**_

_**E**_

_**N**_

_**D**_

* * *

**Present:**

Mira continued smiling as she recalled that memory. Michael and his friends may act zany and flamboyant, but she caught a glimpse of his real feelings, and she felt glad that he could confide in her.

He also was pretty handsome, she had to admit.

"!"

She shook that thought out of her head, she may have been a healthy young woman, but now wasn't the time for thoughts like that. She then moved to get a closer look at the sextet. "So what exactly are you looking for?"

"Well, since we've decided that we need our own home for as long as we are staying here, we now need to earn money to pay for it. Ergo, we need to take a job." Michael answered, giving her a glance.

"Hopefully one with a huge payout, we're hopin' to get somethin' better than our last place. Though… that ain't gonna be too hard." Tyson added with a grimace.

"Was your old home that bad?"

Jordan answered, "It was an old abandoned warehouse. The roof always leaked when it rained, there was no insulation so it was freezing during winter, and the walls were so thin you could hear the mice humping each other."

"Ewww…"

"Exactly."

"But all the options we've seen so far are either out of our skill range or simply don't have the payout we're looking for." Ray inputted, gesturing to two jobs, one which offered 150,000 jewels, but it was for removing a curse on an amulet, something none of them were capable of. The other was simply helping a man make deliveries, but it only pays 3,000, definitely not enough.

"Well, when you finally pick out a job, just bring it to me and I'll make it official." Mira stated in a cheery fashion, still silently grossed out about their living conditions.

Michael kept glancing around the board for an acceptable job, but soon saw one sheet that was somewhat obscured by the others.

"Hold that thought," He did a bit of digging until the sheet was revealed, and then plucked it off the board. "This is interesting..."

"Oh, lemme see!" Tyson asked, snatching the poster in his haste, "Let's see, 'Yadda yadda yadda… Rogue Bandit Clan… blah blah blah… Town of "Asphodel"? I think that's how ya say it… holy shit, five hundred thousand?! Don't know what that amounts to back home but I'm sold!"

"Don't do that." Michael said irritated as he grabbed the poster back before turning to Mira, "So how exactly does the process work?"

"Well... while you head towards your destination, the Master will inform those who posted the job that it has been accepted and then they'll be expecting you." Mira explained. "Although… something is a little odd."

"What is?" Skitt asked.

"The mission sounds routine and simple, yet the offered reward seems a little high… but similar occurrences have happened before, so it might just be me. If you're certain about taking the job, then Asphodel is less than a day away if you go by train." Mira said.

Michael stiffened up, "Right… trains…" though he was smiling, a dark cloud of gloom surrounded him and his team, "For which we have no money to buy tickets…"

To the eyes of everyone, the six seemed to shrink and turn into little white cutouts of themselves, hunched over in despair.

_"And that brings us back to being completely broke…"_ they all bemoaned.

Mira giggled at their actions, "Don't worry, the Master and I prepared for that," She went behind the counter at the bar and pulled something out before presenting it to the team. It was a bronze colored ticket, "In the event that whatever job you chose took you far away from Magnolia, the Master bought a family ticket just for you!"

Immediately the team sprung back up and crowded around the ticket, staring at it with stars in their eyes as if it were an expensive treasure. Michael gently took the ticket and looked at her with a grateful smile, "Thank you! We'll be sure to pay you back for this one day!"

"Oh don't worry about," she waved them off, "Just be sure to work hard and do your job with pride."

"Will do." Michael nodded before turning to his friends, "Ready to get to work?"

**"Yessir!"**

The team then bolted for the door so their job could begin.

"Good luck guys!" Mira waves at them.

"You're an angel Mirajane!" Michael turns back and says to her while Curtis, Tyson and Skitt walked backwards, bowing with their hands extended chanting "We are not worthy!" repeatedly until they left. Mira just smiled and blushed.

Though their little spectacle was not left unseen by the rest of the guild.

"Man, those guys are freakin' weird." Gray said, as he sat unaware that he was in his boxers.

"That they are." Cana agreed, before hefting up a giant barrel of booze and chugging it down.

* * *

**Several Hours Later:**

The train ride had passed by relatively quickly. And the team now walked down a path through a section of forest. They passed the time with idle conversation.

"... So Tyson, after a quick read, it turns out that vocal incantations are an important aspect of casting spells. So no, the people of this world don't just call out attacks like a TV show."

"I still call B.S. to all of that Ray. But whatever, I concede. Is there anything else someone wants to talk about?"

"Oh! Oh!," Skitt raised his paw like an excited child while he sat on Tyson's head, "I heard some guys in the guild talk about making up a name for their team and I think we should do that! It sounds fun and I think it'll help make us known!"

"Excellent point Skitt. We'll discuss that at full length later. For now," Michael spoke, gesturing in front of him, "We've arrived."

The entrance to the town was a large stone archway. Through it the group could see buildings of white with different colored roofing, and in front of them was what looked like a town square, filled with the hustle and bustle from civilians of all ages, wearing clothes that ranged through every color of the rainbow, and all of them were selling and buying everything from food to souvenirs and knick knacks. The biggest constant being that they all had smiles on their face. It was a very colorful and lively place.

"Wow~! Everything is so bright and cheery!" Skitt awed from atop his perch.

"Yeah, pretty sure if you could bottle this place's energy you could sell it for a fortune. Each." Tyson was just as surprised.

"That's Asphodel for you! We are a town of smiles!" A female voice said beside them.

Turning in that direction, they saw a young woman with honey blonde hair done up in a bun, bright blue eyes with glasses and a curvaceous figure dressed in a burgundy suit with black high-heels. She carried several bags of food from a restaurant whose name they couldn't make out. Her bright smile highlighted everything.

Immediately, Curtis zipped in front of her, bowing like a gentleman, "Well good day to you, _mademoiselle_. Tell me, what brings an exquisite beauty like yourself over here?"

The others sweat dropped at his shameless flirting, while the woman blushed hotly and turned into a stuttering mess. "O-Oh I'm n-not d-oing a-anything s-pecial j-ust p-icking u-up l-unch f-for t-t-the m-ayor's o-ffice."

Jordan's brow raised, "Mayor?"

The woman regained her composure, "Oh, that's correct!" She gained a look of pride and planted a fist to her chest, "My name is Penelope, personal assistant to the town mayor! He placed a lunch order at the town's best restaurant for the whole office. I was just sent to pick it up for him."

"Well then that's quite fortunate," Penelope blushed again as Michael stepped up, "We are members of the Fairy Tail Guild," he showed her his right palm and his guild mark, "We are here to complete a job request sent from this town."

"Oh yeah! We got the call some time ago, we've been expecting you!" Penelope starts walking further into town, "Follow me, I'll take you right to his office. It's in the center of town, he likes being able to oversee everything from there."

Grinning at each other, the team followed, fairly eager to get to work.

After a little bit more walking they arrived at a building labeled Town Hall, a large two-story structure which matched the aesthetic of the rest of the town. Entering, they saw more people working, mainly singing forms or taking calls through crystalline orbs that they knew were called communication lacrima. Basically the main form of long-distance communicating in Earthland. As they passed, Penelope gave all of them a wrapped piece of food from the bags she carried. They all thanked her and greeted the team.

Eventually they went up to the second floor of the building and entered a fairly large room that was lined with books and photos. A wall sized window was in the back with a desk, and a man standing between them. He turned back to look at them as they walked in. He was a tall, broad shouldered man in his late 30's. He had short snowy white hair combed backwards, muted green eyes, and a large moustache that covered most of his mouth. He was dressed in a white tuxedo with black shoes.

"Ah, you must be the wizards who have accepted the job. My name is Merdoch, the mayor of this town, heh, if that was not made apparent." He spoke with a kind, yet deep and authoritative tone as he stuck his right hand out.

Michael chuckled in kind, "You'd be correct about us sir. We are here to help any way that we can." He grabbed Merdoch's and shook it.

After that first interaction, they got down to brass tacks:

For a while now, Asphodel has been besieged by a group of bandits that call themselves "Ash Flame". Every other day they raid the town for food and whatever valuables they had. The town had few mages so they were unable to defend themselves. And afterwards, Merdoch had sent out an official request for help.

"I wouldn't have done so if I didn't believe that we really needed it," The mayor's tone was grave, "But their raids have become more and more frequent as of late. We've been complying with them, so they haven't killed anybody yet," his fingers touched a photo on his desk, depicting a beautiful woman with long bold pink hair and red eyes, she held what looked like a swaddled baby, "But the thought of those hooligans doing anything to harm my wife and child fills me with untold fear. So I want them dealt with as soon as possible."

"We understand completely, sir." Michael spoke.

"We'll "educate" these guys on their mistakes." Tyson said with a grin.

"Don't make us sound like thugs." Curtis reprimanded with an elbow nudge.

"And as for your payment," Merdoch paused and pulled a large sack from under his desk, it spilled open showing it was full of jewels bills. jewels being the currency of this world as the group learned yesterday. But the large amount had left the group staring. "Five hundred thousand jewels, as promised."

"Interesting action, showing us the payment upfront." Michael commented while Tyson let out a low whistle.

"I'm also a businessman, and such connections can only be formed through trust." Merdoch explained, "The bandits have set up base in the outskirts of our town in the woods, it's an old storehouse. Apprehend them, and you shall receive payment in full."

"Leave it to us Mr. Merdoch," Michael and his cohorts gave a bow, "Fairy Tail will not let you down."

With a quick goodbye, they left the office and the building, heading in the direction the mayor had indicated.

"...We all saw what was wrong with that whole thing right?" Tyson asked.

"Glad to see your observational skills are up to par Tyson. Care to tell us what you saw?" Michael asked.

"Two things didn't sit right with me back there," Tyson gestured with his fingers, "Firstly, the people. Now I'm all for positive thinkin' and such, but if this place really is gettin' robbed all the time, you'd think the folks here would be scared or in hidin' some shit, but instead they're all happy and goin' about their day like nothin'. And that goes to my second point, where the hell did the mayor get all of that money from? The town ain't that big and it seems like a lot of money to take away from your people."

"Do you feel like he might be planning something?" Jordan asked.

"Either way, I think it's best we keep our guards up. We don't fully know what we're walking into." Curtis advised, lighting a cigarette.

The group continued on their path, heading for the back exit of the town.

_(What they would face, they could not have possibly ever expected_…_)_

* * *

**Fairy Tail Guild, Earlier That Day:**

"Huh? Did someone already take the job at Duke Everlue's mansion?"

Three people stood in front of the request board.

One was a slim, young man of average height with orange hair, kept jutting backwards at the sides of his head. He has a sharp face, a prominent, flat and defined nose pointing downwards, and distinctive teeth, with a protruding, sharp, triangular-shaped upper molar complemented by a chipped portion on the lower row, something which allows him to close his teeth completely despite such a peculiar physical irregularity. He wore an open, light-brown coat with yellowish fur trimmings on its edges and sleeves, which reached down below his elbows. Below it was a high-collared purple shirt, with its collar mostly left open, and was left hanging over the checkered belt below it, with a rectangular buckle, tucked inside the baggy dark pants covering his legs, in turn tucked inside dark boots. He had a bracelet made of thin ropes around his right wrist, and a watch around his left. The most distinctive piece of his attire is probably the fancy, extremely high hat matching his coat, with a large brim and fur trimmings over its entire length, at regular intervals, plus a large furry ball on its top. His name was Jet.

(Fun Fact: His real name Sarusuke. He should stick with Jet.)

The second was another young man with similar height and build. He had black hair kept in an unusual, distinctive hairstyle, with a tuft of hair on top of his head jutting upwards and then curving frontwards, being reminiscent of a plant's stem. His hair extends in a rounded form on his forehead, and was cut on both sides of his head in a spiraling motif. He had dark eyes and thin dark eyebrows pointing downwards at their outer edges; his rectangular-shaped face sported sharp features, with prominent cheekbones. His outfit consisted of a simple white shirt, green checkered pants, and dark shoes with lighter soles. He also sported a pair of distinctive belts crossing his chest, each passing over one of his shoulders. These belts were reminiscent of bandoliers, sporting rectangular cases on them. His name was Droy.

(Fun Fact: No one knows how he gets his hair like. Not even him.)

The last one was the only girl. She was young, petite, had a slender build, and was rather below average in terms of height. Ray dwarfed her by a few inches. She had shoulder length, wavy blue hair, with eyebrow-length bangs, tied up with a colorful bandana. She wore a mostly undone, cropped teal vest over a yellow bikini top. She also wore white, knee-length pants held up by a brown belt. She wore a pair of dark colored anklets around both legs and had a pair of heeled sandals. Her guild mark was white with an orange outline, and it was located on her left scapula. Her name was Levy McGarden.

(Fun Fact: She was actually pretty busty in the early chapters of the manga. Don't know why that changed.)

And together, the three made up Team Shadow Gear, the second best team in the Fairy Tail guild!

.

..

…

….stop laughing, they're proud of that!

"Yes. Natsu accepted that job earlier and went to take Lucy with him." Mira answered Levy's question, as she picked up a few empty mugs.

"*Sigh* I should have taken that job while I had the chance…" Levy said, hanging her head in disappointment.

"Levy… it might be for the best that you didn't take that job." Makarov said from his spot on the bar.

"AH! Master Makarov." Levy exclaimed in surprise.

"That job may just become a whole lot more troublesome. I just got in touch with the client."

"Is the job cancelled?" Mirajane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, actually," Makarov answered as a smirk spread across his face. "Apparently the reward has been raised to two million jewels."

A collective gasp was heard around the guild, as everyone's eyes widened at this new information.

"That's ten times more!" Levy exclaimed in complete shock.

"Two million jewels for one book!" Jet yelled with wide eyes.

"Wh-Why increase it so much so suddenly?" Mirajane stuttered out, just as surprised as the others.

"That's the kind of reward given for near impossible missions!"

"Man…! Can't believe we let that slip by!"

Gray watched on with a bit of a smirk, "Hm, seems that job has gotten a lot more interesting." He then got an expression as if he remembered something, "Hey that reminds me, didn't the new guys take a job of their own?"

"Oh yeah!" Mira realized, "Master, Mikey and his friends took off for their first job earlier today, you need to call in and confirm it."

"Really? Well good for them taking initiative. Where's the job location?" Makarov asked.

"It's in a town called Asphodel."

Makarov froze, "Asphodel? But… that can't be right…"

"Master?" Mira asked worriedly.

.

.

.

.

* * *

**Outside of Asphodel: Present Time**

The group arrived at the intended location, the sky had just turned the faintest shade of orange. The storehouse was a plain and unremarkable two story structure with several windows. The most noteworthy feature was the design of a grayish colored flame on the front door. Taking the stealth approach, they silently crouched closer.

"Hmph, subtle." Tyson remarked about the door art.

"The windows are too heavily tinted, we can't see inside. I don't want to send in **[Storm Rider]** because there's a chance I'll be caught immediately." Ray stated.

"I can't pick up any scents or anything. The building is completely sealed off." Skitt said with his nose twitching, "It's weird because I don't know how they have circulation."

Michael put a finger to his chin in thought, before turning to Jordan, "Have you tried your ability?"

The man seemed to grimace a bit, "I tried. There's no movement. If anybody is in there it's like they're completely still."

Going back into thought, Michael nodded to himself, "Okay then, best estimate, we can expect at least two dozen men, some of them with magic, and all definitely armed. There will probably be one ringleader calling the shots, so it's best to deal with him first. We do this with a brute force approach. Tyson, you're leading the breach," the greenette nodded, "Alright, ready to move in?"

With a firm nod from everyone, they got into position. Tyson, Michael, and Curtis were on the left side of the door, while Jordan, Skitt, and Ray took the right. With one last affirmative nod between the first two, Tyson moved towards the door, and kicked it in…

...

…

…. And everyone was treated to an assault on the nostrils.

"FUCK ME!"

"Oh God!"

"My nose!"

One of the worst scents they ever inhaled came through the new opening, forcing all of them to recoil. Some of them actually started to tear up a little.

"_Madre di Dio_, what is that?!" Michael asked, his voice nasally as he pinched his nose.

"Gah, smells like rotting corpses covered in shit!" Tyson exclaimed.

Curtis managed to blink enough to get himself back to his senses, only for his eyes to widen as he looked into the building, "...You're half right there…"

All of them getting their sight back, they joined Curtis and looked on in shock.

Bodies.

Dead ones.

The whole interior of the building was filled with corpses strewn about everywhere. Some in one piece, others scattered about, and dried blood stains were splattered on all the walls. Flies buzzed around landing on everything, filling the air with the low hum of their wings. And they were all in an advanced stage of decomposition.

"Holy shit…" Tyson stated in shock.

Michael summoned **[Burner Heart]** and created a hot flame in its hands to deal with the smell. "What the Hell are we looking at?" He asked, the smell was mostly gone so he took his hand off his nose.

"The after credits of "Dawn of the Dead" it looks like. This is a fuckin' horror show." Tyson observed. "Ya think someone else did our job for us?"

"Not anytime recently," Jordan said as he got closer to a body, "Bodies are badly decomposed," he then saw as a centipede crawled out of the body's empty eye socket and into its open mouth, "Ugh… these guys have been dead for weeks."

"But if they've been dead all this time, why was there a job to get rid of them?" Curtis questioned.

"Alright, we were suspicious before, but now something is officially wrong. Let's get back to the town for now." Michael ordered, and no one thought otherwise in this situation.

They dashed out of the building, but immediately saw that something else was wrong. It was too dark. Night had already fallen!

"What?! How is this happening?! We were in there for like five minutes and it was still light out when we got here!" Skitt exclaimed.

"We'll think about it later, right now keep moving!" Michael yelled.

And the team shook off the new shock and started running back to town. They needed answers, and they were going to get them.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_"...Hehehe, some insects have fallen into the trap… I'll show them true terror…!"_

* * *

**Fairy Tail Guild:**

"Master, what do you mean that their mission can't be right?" Mirajane questioned, growing worried.

Makarov had a grave look, "They shouldn't be at Asphodel. I received an urgent notice from the Magic Council several years earlier."

"What did it say?"

* * *

**Back With the Team:**

The team had rushed back to the town, but what they saw was something else that they couldn't believe. As they stared with their jaws hanging open.

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

What they saw, was ruins and wreckage as far as they could see.

_("That the town of Asphodel, was completely destroyed…")_

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**A new card and silhouette appeared. In the shape of a muscular humanoid figure with several spikes coming out of its body.**_

_**Stand Name - [?]**_

_**Stand Master - ?**_

_**Power - ?**_

_**Speed - ?**_

_**Range - ?**_

_**Durability - ?**_

_**Precision - ?**_

_**Growth Potential - ?**_

* * *

"What the Hell have we gotten ourselves into?! First we find a buildin' that looks like a sepulchre made by an even crazier Patrick Bateman, and now the goddamned town has gone to shit too! I mean what the actual fuck?!" Tyson yelled.

"Tyson we get it! We're all freaked out about this but you're not helping anything by yelling to high heaven, so quit bitching and calm the Hell down!" Jordan yelled back.

The group had been investigating the ruins of the town, trying to find anybody. The eerie silence of the night was a far cry from the liveliness they saw before, broken only by their footfalls… and Tyson.

"Right… right. Sorry, you're right. This has just been insane. Maybe a bit more than what we're used to." The punkish youth muttered, embarrassed at his attitude.

Skitt was in his own corner searching for civilians, when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He made out the shape of a man in the shadows.

"Hey guys I see somebody!" He called to his friends before turning to the figure, "Hello? Can you help us? We're trying to find out what… happened….."

Skitt trailed off as his eyes widened in horror and disbelief. The figure had stepped into the moonlight. Showing decayed, grayish green skin, torn clothing, only a few strands of hair, and empty yellow eyes. As the figure growled and began to charge at the young feline, he could only scream one word…

_"ZOMBIE!"_

The 'zombie' jumped as Skitt ran in fear, **"I hUnGeR fOr YoUr FlEsH! KiLl YoU fOr MaStEr!"**

The little cat had tumbled to his rear end in fear, backing up as much as he could. Now more than ever he wished to share Happy's ability of flight. The zombie's jaw was inches away from clamping on his skull, when…

**"CUORE!" **_**BAM!**_

…A red fist with a purple glove struck the beast in the jaw, sending it flying into a wall!

Right behind Skitt, Michael had summoned **[Burner Heart]** and moved to defend him, glaring angrily at the beast. The little cat proceeded to jump into his arms, crying quite comically. "WAAAH! I'M SORRY! THAT WAS SO SCARY! I COULDN'T EVEN BRING MY STAND OUT!" Tears sprayed from his eyes.

"Skitt it's okay! I understand! You're safe now, that's what matters." Michael consoled the cat, patting his head as he smuggled into the man's arms and blinked the last few tears away.

Away from that admittedly cute scene, the team was looking over the body of the zombie, **[Burner Heart's]** punch had shattered the rotted skull, scattering the contents on the walls.

"Good God, I was jokin' when I brought up "Dawn of the Dead"." Tyson said offhandedly.

"We all heard that thing talk right?" Curtis brought up a disturbing point.

But before they could deliberate on it, a cacophony of groans echoed from another direction. Looking over, they saw a countless number of more zombies shambling in their direction. They all bore the same features as the first, though they were of all ages and sizes and wore all sorts of ripped and tattered clothes.

"Oh fuck us all…" Tyson said in disbelief.

"It appears the whole town has been… zombified." Ray observed. She sounded calm, but the sweat trickling down her forehead spoke volumes. And another sight got her eyes to widen, "And look in front."

Leading the charge were the now zombified forms of Mayor Merdoch and his assistant Penelope, their clothes filthy and torn while they were in the same rotted condition as the others.

"Well the mayor may have been suspicious, but now I think he's innocent." Tyson stated the obvious, just as the horde began to charge, "Here they come!"

"**[Hazy Winter]**!"

Thinking quickly, Curtis summoned his Stand and had it erect a large wall of ice. They could hear repeated thumping noises coming from the other side as the zombies threw themselves against the barricade, but soon a small crack started to form in the middle.

"This won't hold them back forever, we need a game plan!" Curtis yelled. He was continuously patching up the wall with more ice, but it was still starting to crumble.

"And I've got one!" Michael answered as he turned to the man he knew could carry it out. He turned to -

"Jordan!" The dark skinned man looked to him, "You still have your walkie on you right?" He nodded, "Ok, the first zombie mentioned something about a master, that means that somebody is controlling all of these guys. Your ability is the most suited to tracking that person in these circumstances. Find the one in charge and take them down! That's our best bet to ending this quickly!"

"What about the rest of you?!" Jordan questioned.

"We'll hang back and hold them all off. Find their leader, call it in to us, and we will all work to take them down! That's your objective! Understand?" Michael's authoritatively spoke.

Hearing his leader's words and looking at the confident faces of the others, even Skitt and Ray despite the former's initial fear.

Letting out a groan of frustration, he complied, "You all had better still be alive when I call in, or I'm gonna be pissed!"

Tyson snorted, "Yeah yeah we get it. Now find someplace quieter and do your thing!"

And Jordan did that, turning on his heel and running away from the crowd. The rest readied themselves for battle. "Curtis, when the wall comes down, focus on restraining them but take out whatever ones you can! Ray, confuse and disorient them! Tyson, Skitt, you're with me on offense!" Michael told his plan, with the others agreeing.

Skitt swallowed his fear and slapped his cheeks to psyche himself up, "Yeah, let's prove to these creeps that they should've stayed dead!"

Their determination to survive shined as their bodies were coated with their auras. They stood their ground as the ice wall crumbled, and charged forward to meet their opposition!

They were not going to join them in death tonight!

* * *

After several minutes of running, Jordan came to a stop some ways away from his friends.

"This should be far enough away from the action for me to work properly." He said as he panted from his run, only to sigh immediately. "Dammit. I don't want to leave them like that, but Michael has put his faith in me. And I'm not going to defy that." He crouched to the ground and his green aura started to waft off him, but before anything could be done…

**"wElL, wElL. wHaT hAvE wE hErE?"**

Quickly looking in that direction, seeing another group of zombies several yards away, though it was only around a dozen of them.

**"a WaNdErInG mEaL fOr Us To CoNsUmE?"** One sarcastically asked, giggling maniacally.

Most people would be trembling with fear at such an opposition.

.

.

.

.

Jordan sighed as if this was a tedious chore. He looked down with his eyes shut, "You know… for reasons that are my own, I really don't like bringing out my Stand. But…" He shifted to his right knee, put his right hand on it while making a right angle with his elbow, and let his left arm dangle and glared defiantly at the zombies, "Soulless freaks like you deserve to be put down! You won't get in my way!"

The zombies growled angrily and charged.

**"fOoL! yOu ThInK yOu CaN sTaNd AgAiNsT uS?!"**

**"wE'Ll RiP yOuR hEaD oFf AnD bAtHe In ThE gLoRiOuS cRiMsOn ShOwEr!"**

Three zombies lunged and piled up on him… but that's when Jordan struck!

"**WARUSHA!"**

There was a wild flash of green and the zombies were sent flying back, their bodies broken and the light gone from their eyes. Their attacker stood in front of Jordan.

It was around Jordan's height and build, if not a few centimeters taller and a bit more muscular. It had rough scaly skin that was mostly bright green, with the front of its body, including the neck and biceps, being a dark yellow color. It's head had a series of orange spikes running through it. The sclera of its eyes were golden yellow and it had black, miotic pupils. It had a wide mouth that was pulled into a permanent snarl, baring all of its sharp teeth. For attire, it wore black, fingerless, detached sleeves that stopped at it's elbows. There was a ring of spikes at that opening and around the wrist. A similar looking black spiked bracelet was around its knees and ankles. Each finger had a plain black band around the middle. It wore a mahogany colored praetorian battle skirt with stylized orange "R's" and black shorts underneath that. To finish, it wore boots that were of similar design to its scales with bone white points.

This was Jordan's Stand, which actually stood on the ground instead of levitating like the previously shown Stands.

The remaining zombies flinched, before staggering backwards. They were scared of Jordan's Stand, and he noticed that.

"They're… retreating?" He questioned.

**"He-He SuMmOnS! sAmE aS mAsTeR!"** One shrieked.

Jordan froze, his eyes widening in increasing realization, _'The same?! None of our team could do anything like this, and they wouldn't either way! But then… that would mean… there's a new Stand user in Earthland?!'_

But one zombie rallies the others, **"Do NoT fAlTeR! wE cAnNoT fAiL oUr MaStEr! **_**KiLl HiM!**_**"**

All the remaining zombies leaped up and attempted to dive onto Jordan, but he was undisturbed, and gave a mental command to his spirit as he vocally uttered it's name…

"**[Crocodile Rock]**!"

The now named Stand raised its fist high, uttering, **"WARU!"**, before it struck the ground. It rippled for a moment as if it were made of pudding, before nine giant spikes of quite solid earth rose up and skewered each zombie in midair!

"That's one headache out of the way.: Jordan quipped, "Now to do what I came here for. **[Crocodile Rock]**!"

Snarling, the scaly Stand crouched down and gently placed its hands on the ground. Once touching the ground, Jordan closed his eyes, and was greeted to monochrome three-dimensional imaging flashing through his mind.

_'My Stand **[Crocodile Rock]**,'_ He thought to himself, _'Has the power to manipulate earth, stone, and all those in between. In addition, it possesses a special ground based sonar. By having him sense vibrations in the ground, I can perceive my surroundings as precisely as normal sight, and in some cases with even greater clarity. It takes a bit of time to get the full image, so I had to leave as to make sure that I'm not a sitting duck. But as long as I have this power, and as long as it travels on the ground, I can track it!'_

_PING_

Jordan opened his eyes and gave them a second to adjust. Switching between views made his eyes hurt a little. He saw several things while in sonar view, mainly the footfalls of random zombies as they shambled towards the large mass of chaos that was his friends fighting. But one stood out. It was the rhythm of somebody stomping their foot, mainly out of anger or petulance. From his count, the figure was male, average height and weight, and... he knew what direction he was in.

_("I'll take you right to his office. It's in the center of town, he likes being able to oversee everything from there.__")_

"...Town Hall!" Jordan deduced. Calling back **[Crocodile Rock]**, he immediately took off in that direction. He also reached into his jacket and pulled out his walkie-talkie, k_risssh, _"Guys! If you can hear me, head towards the mayor's office the first chance you get! The guy controlling the zombies is there! And be careful! This isn't magic, I think this is the work of an enemy Stand!"

Storing away his walkie and praying that his friends heard him, Jordan continued his run. Several zombies attempted to get in his way, but they were dealt with swiftly as **[Crocodile Rock]** was brought back and delivered a fierce barrage of wild but powerful punches. Despite their above average speed and tenacity, they were actually quite weak. And after several minutes of running, he soon found himself back in front of the target building. He was exhausted from the constant running and fighting, but he was not finished yet.

"Let's end this nightmare." he growled, before marching in.

* * *

**Mayor's Office**

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! This shouldn't be happening!" a male voice whined.

The voice belonged to a man of average height with a medium to skinny build. He had shaggy powder blue hair that went to the middle of his back. He had one turquoise colored eye, the other was covered with a bronze colored patch that resembled an evil eye. His attire consisted of a burgundy colored jumpsuit with another pair of evil eye bands around it, colored the same as his real eye. The jumpsuit had only one sleeve on the right arm, his left was covered by a brown cape. His look was finished by a pair of black boots.

And right now, this man was infuriated as he looked out the windows of the office and out into the ruins.

"My zombies are supposed to be tearing those fools apart! Not the other way around! Why won't they fear me!?" he seemed close to pulling his hair out. He then turned to a figure that floated beside him, its arms moving as if it were controlling puppets, "Why can't this new power of mine work faster?!"

The figure was tall and lanky, almost skeletal in design. it had a bone white, mask-face with no mouth and three diamond shaped eye holes, one being in the forehead, and each had a soulless white dot for a pupil. Under its regular eyes were purple stripes that resembled tear stains. Its scrawny form was pitch black with round shoulders, and arms almost longer than its entire body that ended in three fingered hands. It had three _actual_ evil eyes on its torso, the same color as the man's. And its legs were scrawny and elephantine, not ending with actual feet. Its four extremities all had a series of purple bands running around them.

"Dammit! My actions here were supposed to put me in my master's good graces but it's all going to shit!"

As if to outline that statement, the door to the office was busted down, sending splinters flying. The man barely had any time to react as Jordan dashed through the smoke and grabbed him by the collar, "Knock-knock."

"T-The Hell?! How did you find me?!" The man demanded, only for Jordan to punch him in the gut.

"I'd advise saving your breath because I'll be asking the questions here. Now who are you and how did you get your Stand?"

"S-Screw you! **[City of the Dead]**, kill him!" the man ordered. The now named Stand left its position and moved to attack Jordan with a sloppy punch. But **[Crocodile Rock]** was quickly summoned and caught the other Stand's arms, and then caught it's head in between its jaws! "GAH! What the Hell?!" He cried out as a powerful crushing sensation wrapped around his head and blood started to trickle down his temples, "What's happening!?"

Jordan looked at him with contempt, "You're a novice." The man glared at Jordan, as if he just defied him, "You have no fine control over your ability. Having something with such a wide range would mean that your Stand lacks any real combative ability. And on top of that you're just letting your little puppets roam free with the only real objective being to kill us. You may have named it, but you don't fully know it. You didn't even know that any damage your Stand takes is reflected back on you. Anybody who doesn't fully know themselves or refuses to learn will never truly become stronger! Now answer my questions. And for the record, my Stand has a bite force of 3,700 psi, the same as the average saltwater crocodile, it's been recorded as the strongest bite force back home, and it takes less than half of that in order to crush a human skull. So either you start talking, or start to see just how much you can take before your head cracks open like an egg!"

Getting a mental command from its master, **[Crocodile Rock]** slowly started to add more pressure, squeezing its opponents head. Its fangs were causing **[City of the Dead's]** head to start cracking, but on its user, more blood started to spurt from the sides of his head. And eventually the pain became too much to withstand.

"AAAHH! OK OK I'LL TALK!" The reptilian Stand then alleviated the pressure while still keeping a firm grip on the opponent's head.

"Start talking. And I will NOT ask again." Jordan threatened.

"Grrr... My name is Sawyer. And... what did you call them? Stands? Whatever. I got mine from my master a few days ago." The now named Sawyer answered.

"And what do you mean by got?"

Sawyer grinned sinisterly, "My master came into possession of special item that grants these abilities to those who are worthy. I was nothing more than just a nameless face in his forces, but this proves that I really am one of a kind!"

"Damn... so _it_ somehow got sent here along with us," Jordan whispered to himself, "Why are you here in the first place?"

"My Master Destroyed this town a long time ago, and sent me here in order to test my new abilities. Originally I only knew **Illusion Magic**, that's how I made it look like day changed to night so quickly, and made it look like the town was intact. And my Stand **[City of the Dead]** has the power to control any corpse that it comes in contact with. So I had it take control of all the townspeople that were here. But then those bandits showed up to try and steal whatever bits of wealth they could find. But as you saw, I taught them a lesson. Now I had thought about adding them to my forces, but then I got a better idea. I'd set a trap, posting a job to defeat them, and using the money they had on them as a reward, I would lure in other wizards from Light Guilds and add them to my army, paving the way for my Master's grand plan. But then you bastards ruined everything!"

"And who is this 'Master' you keep mentioning? Who do you work for?" Jordan questioned.

"...Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Knowing that won't do you any good! My Master is a GOD compared to you! You, your plebeian friends, and your pathetic excuse of a guild would never stand a chance against him or the rest of my mine, not in a million years! We will ascend beyond the limitations of you mortals and be the true rulers of this world! NO ONE CAN EVER MATCH THE MIGHT OF-!"

_**BOOM!**_

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Sawyer's sentence would forever go unfinished.

* * *

**With the Others:**

Another zombie had moved to lunge at Tyson, and the greenette was readying himself to counter, but out of nowhere, the light in the zombie's eyes vanished and it fell to the ground like a limp noodle. Looking around, he and the others saw that the same thing was happening to all the other zombies.

"...Candy ass bitches..." He muttered to himself as he relaxed. Oddly, all of the zombies around him looked as if they had been carved up. An odd pink light flashed beside him and he turned to see Skitt with his paws on his knees and panting, "Got your workout for today little guy?"

"(Pant) I (Pant) can still go for more!" He flashed a little thumbs up.

"Well then, looks like Needle Head managed to pull through for once." Curtis snarked as he lit a new cigarette.

"Now that Jordan has defeated the apparent Stand user, the threat has passed. Let's rendezvous with him, and see if he has news to share." Michael spoke.

They took off, hopeful for their friends efforts.

* * *

**Back With Jordan:**

Though the user was now dealt with, it was not by Jordan's hand.

Right before his eyes, Sawyer's head was _blown_ off of his shoulders. An explosion from the back of his neck had decapitated him. His head tumbled to the corner of the room, frozen in a smiling, manic expression. Immediately after, **[City of the Dead]** dissipated and vanished, destroyed now that its master was gone. And as Jordan stood there, holding the now headless body of Sawyer, one thought made itself apparent;

"...What the Hell are we up against?"

* * *

**Name: Sawyer**

**Magic: Illusion**

**Stand: [City of the Dead]**

**Status: _Deceased_**

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**[City of the Dead] appears, sticking its arms toward the screen as zombies ran about underneath it**_

_**Stand Name: ****[City of the Dead]**_

_**Classification: Inorganic Humanoid**_

_**Type: Long Range**_

_**Stand Master: Sawyer**_

_**Power: D**_

_**Speed: D**_

_**Range: A**_

_**Durability: C**_

_**Precision: C**_

_**Growth Potential: E**_

_**Reference: Song by The Clash**_

_**Ability:**__** Corpse Control**_

_**This Stand has the ability to control and dead creature it touches and command them like an army, giving them limited intelligence. Sadly this Stand is incapable of fighting for itself, so it must keep all enemies at bay at all times.**_

* * *

**Later:**

The team had reunited some time later, but found themselves reeling, in awe, and disgust at what had occured. But they also couldn't help but pity the innocent lives that were lost.

To that end, they all used their Stands to help make a shrine in the middle of town, spending the next few hours collecting every dead body in town before burying them deep under the earth. They then brought stone and wood and piled it all on top of the area. Michael then used **[Burner Heart]** to inscribe these words onto it:

_**"Here lie the people of Asphodel. The town of never ending smiles."**_

All of them looked on at what they made, their faces unreadable. They weren't angry. They weren't proud. They just couldn't feel at the moment.

One by one, they turned around and began to leave. First Tyson with Skitt on his shoulders, then Ray, Curtis, and Jordan who had slung the baf full of money over his back.

As for Michael, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. It was one of the few remaining things in the mayor's office that was mostly intact. He then placed it by the shrine, pinned down by several rocks. Looking up to the sky, he said, "I am not aware if an afterlife truly exists out there. But if it does, and if you all can somehow hear me, then my only hope right now is that you are all finally at peace.

He then turned around and caught up with his group.

"So if new Stand users are going to start appearing in Earthland, how are we going to deal with it?" Curtis asked.

"The same way we handle everything Curtis," Michael answered, "With all of our might and spirit."

As they continued walking, we now see the photo Michael left behind.

It was of Merdoch smiling happily as he held his wife, and what seemed to be their daughter.

She had her mother's pink hair and her father's green eyes.

* * *

**Unknown Location:**

"Hm?" a male voice uttered

"Is something wrong, Master?" a female voice answered.

"Feh, that fool Sawyer got himself killed." the male voice was irritated.

"Oh," the female voice sounded the same, "He nearly mentioned us didn't he?"

"Thus setting off the explosive lacrima we had implanted into his neck. He should've known better." The male figure held something up, an arrow with a plain wooden shaft, and a golden head with the design of a scarab beetle with a red jewel of some kind embedded in the back. "After this artifact chose him out of all of our followers, I actually expected him to become more than a waste of space, but I've been proven wrong."

"So what shall we do now?"

"We continue as planned. And along the way we shall see if this mysterious arrow can create more capable warriors. Am I understood?"

"As you command..."

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"... _Lord Hades."_

* * *

**Back on Earth:**

Parallelo is a veteran member of _Passione_.

Having been brought into the fold years ago, he worked his way up the ranks through hard work and his unquestioning loyalty to The Boss. Eventually gaining his Stand **[Worlds Apart]** and becoming the _Capo_ of his own team, _La Guardia del Re_, who act as The Boss's proxies for important matters.

The unofficial rumor that floats around, is that he is The Boss's right hand.

And right now, his right hand was balled into a fist and striking the face of a nameless goon he was working with. His face was a mess of bruises and his right hand had a hole in it, as two other goons held him down. Surrounding them were the rest of the men, the other lieutenants Arretrato and Rumore, and the hooded figure who brought the case.

"So let me say it again, just so that I may understand the situation your stupidity has put us in." He began as he cleaned his knuckles off with a rag. He approached a nearby table with a pistol on it, "You had one job. One _very_ simple job. Hold onto the case containing the new arrow. That was it. Except you're telling me that you dropped it in the chaos, and because of that, I ended up sending it away with the filthy rats who interrupted the deal. Is that what I am hearing right now? Truly? You know, we originally believed that there were only two of those arrows in the world, and after we lost one of them, imagine our surprise and elation upon hearing that someone found a third... only for you to dash it all away."

"It-It w-wasn't my fault sir!" The goon stuttered through a busted lip and missing teeth, tears were streaming down his swollen eyes, "O-One of them shot my hand! I couldn't hold on!"

Parallelo didn't seem to like that answer as he struck the man upside the head with the butt of the gun before sticking the barrel in his mouth, "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! NOTHING ELSE ASIDE FROM THAT CASE MATTERED! EVEN THEY SHOT YOUR WORTHLESS BRAINS OUT, THE ONLY WAY THE SHOULD'VE GOTTEN THAT CASE WOULD BE IF THEY TORE YOUR FINGERS OFF! YOU WORTHLESS, INCOMPETENT _TESTA DI CAZZO_!"

The man looked as if the fear of God had been put into him, so much that he actually wet himself. This grossed out all of them.

"Pathetic. You're not worth a bullet," the goon sighed happily that would get to live, "...Because that would be far too quick for you." He turned to the blue haired lieutenant, "Arretrato, have fun with this one."

He smiled so big that The Joker would be proud, "_Goodie~._" He walked over and grabbed the goon by the collar, as he started screaming, crying, and struggling.

"N-No, NO! PLEASE! I'VE HEARD ABOUT WHAT HE CAN DO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! _NOOOOO_!."

Parallelo then turned to the others, "And for the rest of you, I want you all to find whoever snitched on us to our enemies and bring them to us alive! I want to deal with the gutless coward myself!"

A round of affirmatives came from them all as the red vested man settled down. He had to report this matter to The Boss.

And he was not looking forward to that conversation.

* * *

_And so, the team finishes their first mission, and leave with heavy hearts, startling information and a bag full of money._

_What comes next for our heroes?_

_And will they be able to overcome it?_

_Find Out... Next Time!_

_._

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**／|=============**

**〈_ To BE CONTINUED_…**

**＼|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣**

* * *

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**[Crocodile Rock] appears, roaring at the screen.**_

_**Stand Name: ****[Crocodile Rock]**_

_**Classification: Organic Humanoid**_

_**Type: Close Range**_

_**Stand Master: Jordan**_

_**Power: A**_

_**Speed: A**_

_**Range: D**_

_**Durability: A**_

_**Precision: E**_

_**Growth Potential: B**_

_**Reference: Song by Elton John**_

_**Abilities:**_

_**Geokinesis: [Crocodile Rock] can control all manner of earth and stone so long as it is touching it. Hence why it prefers to remain on the ground rather than float.**_

_**Seismic Sense: It can also use the vibrations that travel through the ground to track enemies. Though it takes time depending on how far it has to search, so this ability could leave it vulnerable.**_

_**And like regular crocodiles, it has an incredible bite force.**_

* * *

**AN: Hope you all missed me. Sorry for the long hiatus. If you saw my 'Sad Update', you know why. If not, then the long and short of it is: bad stuff happened to me, and I needed to do some soul searching and personal growth. But I'm here now, I'm healthy, and I'm not giving up.**

**Hope you like the chapter, favorite and review, and if you like RWBY and the way I write, I have a second story you may like. Until next time everybody!**

_**C**** Ya...**_


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Welcome everybody to another chapter of this story.**

**To those who reviewed, thank you. And to those who don't, I hope you all liked the twist of the last chapter.**

**In following the tradition of giving towns and cities in Fiore flower based names, I chose Asphodel because they apparently symbolize 'remembered beyond the tomb' or 'my regrets follow you to the grave'. As you can see, I took that literally.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own no official content from either series. I do own my OC's, and the sweet ass cover art.**

**With that said, this will be a long chapter, so let's get to it!**

_Previously on The Most Bizarre Tail:_

_In need of a new home for their stay on Earthland and the money to pay for it, Michael and his team took their first job, which brought them to the town of Asphodel._

_Arriving in the almost overly friendly town, which was supposedly besieged by bandits, they arrive at the headquarters of their targets, only to learn that all of them had been killed ages ago!_

_Not only that, when they return to the town, they see that the entire place has been reduced to ruins and the townsfolk were all zombies!_

_With most of the team holding back the undead army, Michael sent Jordan to track down the person who created them all and take them down. To do so, Jordan brought out his ferocious stand __**[Crocodile Rock]**__, which has geokinetic abilities, and the power to track ground based targets by sensing vibrations. With these powers, Jordan tracked down the perpetrator of this nightmare, a man named Sawyer. But it was here that the paradigm shifted._

_Sawyer was an artificial stand user, his stand __**[City of the Dead]**__ allowed him to reanimate the corpses of the townsfolk as zombies under his command. Sawyer claimed he received this power from his own master, who now possessed a special artifact from Earth, an ornate looking gold arrow._

_Before being able to question him further, Sawyer was killed by an exploding lacrima that had been planted in his neck and set to go off if he ever spoke too much._

_Saddened by the needless destruction of the town, but not deterred from their mission, Michael's team collected their money and returned to Magnolia._

_Their will to complete their most imperative mission yet had become further ignited by the new information, and this tragedy._

_Will they find their friends and return home? And how will they deal with the new stand users who come their way in this world of magic?_

_Answers will come… Now!_

_**Chapter 5: All Aboard the Crazy Train! Take Down Eisenwald!**_

**Fairy Tail Guild Hall: Mid-Day**

The guild was just as rowdy as always. People talking about jobs, plans, any improvements to their magic, the whole nine yards.

Currently, Lucy was scanning through the request board, humming a bit as she thought about which job to take.

"Searching for a magic bracelet?"

"Yes."

"Dispelling a cursed staff?"

"Out of our skillset."

"Using astrology to tell love fortunes?!"

"I think Cana might be perfect for that actually."

"Hunting down volcano monsters?!"

"Sounds pulse-pounding."

...After a few seconds, Lucy finally thought,_ 'Who am I having this back-and-forth with?'_

Looking to her right, Lucy saw Michael standing next to her. His hand was on his chin in thought as he gazed intently at all the listed jobs.

"Oh Michael it's you. You're picking out jobs as well?" The celestial mage asked.

"That's correct. The 500,000 jewels we got from our last job will be going straight into a new home when me and the team make a final decision. Until then, best to keep the money coming in just in case." The fire Stand User explained. "Besides, we still need to buy things for ourselves. Food, medical supplies, cosmetics…"

"Well that makes sense- wait, what was that last one?"

"Never you mind."

"Is something wrong you two?" Mirajane asked as she approached the pair.

"No it's nothing. There's just so many types of missions to choose from and I can't seem to find the right one."

"Try to focus on jobs that require anything within your range of abilities. Then sort it out from there." Michael explained as he compared two separate jobs next to each other, "My team and I have our own strategy in place on this matter. Where we take several jobs and split them up based on our skill sets. Simple things like transport jobs and locating items would only take one or two of us at a time, while big hunting or extermination jobs would probably require all of us should there truly be a high chance of danger." He then stacked the job sheets on top of each other, "Either way, we voted this would be the most efficient way to keep the money flowing in."

"It sounds like you guys have this down to a science…" Lucy grumbled.

"Well Ray always says, 'Everything is a science as long as you figure out the rules'." He shrugged before turning to Mira, "We will discuss these jobs before deciding." He then walked off towards the nearby end of the bar, where his team was currently sitting.

Tyson seemed to be telling some kind of joke, "So then the elephant asks the naked guy, "How do ya breathe outta that thing?!" Causing the group to burst out laughing.

Mirajane smiled and noted how their eyes were all bright and joyful as they listened and laughed. Despite being the newest faces and their odd and flamboyant habits, the six of them were settling in very nicely. Just earlier, they actually went around the guild so that they could commit everyone's names and faces to memory. In their own ways, all six had incredibly positive attitudes.

A far cry from what they were after they returned from their first job.

_**F**_

_**L**_

_**A**_

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_**H**_

_**B**_

_**A**_

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_**K **_

**Yesterday:**

Normally in Fairy Tail when people return from completing jobs, they're met with casual responses from people who are still going about their day. A few hellos and some light congratulations are expected, but nothing too extravagant. At least for jobs that don't sound too difficult.

But after hearing from Makarov that the town Michael and his team were sent to was destroyed, most of them just saw it as a practical joke. Some planned to actually track down where the offer came from and get a little payback for the newbies. Natsu, who had returned from an earlier job along with Lucy and Happy, was at the forefront.

That thought died when said newbies entered the Guild Hall. For some reason, all of their eyes were shadowed over, making their expressions impossible to read.

For one of the few times in recent history, the air in the constantly lively guild had grown still as they walked in and sat down at the nearest table.

The nameless guild members who believed that the request was a joke had gone over to them in an attempt to get answers over who the "joker" who thought that they could pull one over on Fairy Tail was, only for Jordan to throw a bag onto the table, causing all of the money to spill out. This stunned everyone into silence yet again.

Makarov, though tentative, asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What happened?"

Interlocking his fingers and sighing, Michael explained everything.

How the town seemed so cheerful at first.

The storehouse that was full of dead bodies.

The zombie infested town. (That got a few gasps from everybody.)

Jordan's encounter with the new Stand User.

And to the information he managed to glean out of him, right before his death.

Needless to say, the entire recap of their experience had left every present member stunned. None of their first jobs had ever had them surrounded by so much death, and the fact that it had happened to such a bright and lively town had made the feeling even worse in a way.

But Michael and his team seemed completely out of it, so Mirajane stepped forward to offer some comforting words.

"Michael," she began, "What you and your friends went through was traumatic, and I don't think we could relate to the situation you were in, but if any of you need to talk -"

"Thank you Mira, but that is not necessary." Michael interrupted, surprising everyone. "While we do mourn for the people of Asphodel, that does not deter us in any way. Our mission was accomplished, we received our payment, and we have learned a valuable piece of information while we were out there. Now on top of locating the rest of our team and finding a way to return home, we now have a new greater objective."

The brunette looked up, and for the first time today, they could see his eyes.

Mirajane could swear they were glowing.

"We are going to find that artefact," He spoke with a voice filled with determination, "And whether or not we need to search this entire planet, or snatch it from the hands of God himself, we are not leaving without it."

Around him, the five members of his team all adopted a similar look on their faces, even little Skitt. Several men in the crowd would now have to live in shame of being intimidated by a foot and a half tall cat.

But Makarov's own eyes widened at the looks, as if he were truly surprised. And later Mirajane would ask why.

It was because he had seen similar faces before, but mainly on veteran wizards and soldiers who had returned from years of fighting wars.

They were faces that did not fear _death_.

_**F**_

_**L**_

_**A**_

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_**H**_

_**B**_

_**A**_

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_**K**_

_**E**_

_**N**_

_**D **_

'_What did they go through that allowed them to make that face so genuinely?'_ Mirajane thought to herself.

"Still though, I never realized that there was such a wide range of missions to pick from." Lucy spoke, which got Mirajane's attention back.

'_I was dwelling on that shorter than I thought.'_ Mirajane thought, "Well if you find a job that interests you, let me know since Master isn't here right now." Mirajane said with a smile, as she started wiping down the bar.

Michael, who had overheard them, spoke up, "Oh yeah, I just realized that." He looked at the spot on the bar where he normally sat.

"Where is he any way?" Lucy asked.

"He has to attend the regular meeting, so he'll be out for a while." Mirajane replied, making them both raise an eyebrow.

"Regular meeting?" Michael parroted with a confused look.

"It's a meeting where the masters from guilds from the region come to give reports about their guilds." Mirajane explained.

"Oh, so it's like a big progress and status update between the masters." Michael guessed.

"In a way." Mirajane agreed. But all of the talk only served to make Lucy more confused. "It's different from council meetings, but it's a bit difficult to understand with just words." She turned to another guild member sitting nearby, "Hey Reedus, can I borrow your **Light Pen**?"

The man in question, Reedus Jonah, is a fairly tall man sporting curly, light orange hair. He had high cheekbones and a distinctly large and round torso. His outfit consisted of a large, white shirt fitting his chests size, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark pants, dark, pointed shoes adorned by light crescent moon-like motifs on the inner sides, and a distinctive dark hat, with a large brim, a curved point hanging down on his left hand side and a light orange band around it, highly reminiscent of those worn by fictional sorcerers.

(Fun Fact: He actually means it when he says he's big boned.)

"Oui." Reedus answered, handing Mirajane the magic pen over his shoulder.

_(__**Light Pens**__! These handy tools allow you to write things in midair! Collect all 72 colors!)_

"Neither of you could've known about the organizational chart about the magic world when you just joined a guild. Especially you and your friends Michael, given your special circumstances." Mirajane explained, using the Light Pen to write in the air. Mirajane hummed happily, as she drew a diagram to use in her explanation. While Mirajane was drawing, Lucy took a seat at the bar, and Michael rapped on the counter to get his team's attention. They all watched, not wanting to miss the explanation. The beautiful, white-haired barmaid started her explanation again at the top of her diagram. "The ten council members who have connections to the government hold the highest positions in the magical world. They exist to protect order in the world of wizards. The council also has the power to pass judgement on mages who commit crimes." Mirajane then pointed to the middle of her diagram. "Guild masters are right underneath the council. Their job is to smoothen communication between guilds in every town, and to notify their guild members about council decisions, as well as bringing them all together. It's quite a difficult job to do."

"I had no idea that all the guilds were connected." Lucy said, as she turned her head to look back at the request board.

"Hm, if only our government back home followed a similar chain of command." Ray commented.

"All we get is one wrinkly asshole after another every four or eight years." Tyson cracked. "Glad I ain't in charge."

"Boring as it may seem to some, all these connections are important. And without them the system would fall apart." Mirajane said, making Lucy turn her head back to look at her.

"_And then the dark ones will come and get you~!"_ A scary voice came from behind her.

"KYA!" Lucy screamed, as she jumped in her seat.

"HAHAHA!" Natsu laughed, having made the voice, "That was almost too easy!"

"GAHA!" Tyson joined along, "The look on your face and the sound you made! Priceless!"

"Don't scare me like that!" Lucy yelled, as she panted slightly, her heart racing.

"Natsu isn't wrong though," Mirajane said as she added another segment to the chart she drew,"The men he's referring to do exist. They're called Dark Guilds, any guild that doesn't belong to the leagues and doesn't obey the laws set by the council will be classified as one."

"Oh yeah, Gramps told me about them the other day," Michael interjected, before looking towards his team, "Think of them like the gangs from back home."

To that, looks of realization crossed their faces and an audible "Oh…" came from Skitt.

"They don't follow the law, so they're scary." Natsu commented with a grin, putting his hands behind his head.

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

"Then I'm sure they'll come and recruit you soon." Lucy said with a sigh, putting a hand on her hip.

"Technically, we break the law all the time back home, so by that logic, they could recruit us as well. Does that make us scary?" Curtis brought up as he lit a cigarette.

"What? No! You guys are cool!" Natsu waved him off before turning to Lucy, "But now that that's over let's get us a job!"

"Yeh! We chose the mission last time so now it's your turn Lucy!" Happy exclaimed, sprouting his wings and flying into the air.

Lucy frowned at that, "And why should I do that? As far as I'm concerned our so called 'team' is disbanded!"

"Aw, trouble in paradise?" Tyson asked in a somewhat mocking tone.

"They picked our last mission without consulting me at all!" she complained, "And they didn't bring me along for my skills or anything, it was just because they needed a blonde girl in a maid uniform!" She tugged on her locks for emphasis, "You could've taken in any blonde girl for that mission to Everlue Mansion, heck, if Ray was there you could've gone with her!"

"Oh yeah, you guys work here." Jordan said, "It's been so long I honestly forgot about that."

"What was there to forget?! It's been less than a week!"

At that time, Natsu was having his own thought process. Really.

For some reason, the thought of petite and demure wearing a maid outfit got his cheeks red, but he shook that away before anybody noticed and gave a response, "Oh c'mon, we didn't just pick you because of your hair," he gave a large beaming smile, "But we picked you cause you're so nice!"

Lucy blushed at that and looked away shyly, pursing her lips to try and keep a smile from forming. Sadly for her, Tyson noticed this.

"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes 33 kids in a baby carriage~." He sang mockingly.

Lucy's face turned bright red,"THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING! AND WHAT IS WITH THAT NUMBER?!"

While those nearby all shared a laugh at her reaction (sans Ray and Jordan) a level-headed voice came from the table behind them, "You don't have to force yourself to team up with anyone, especially Flame Brain over there."

Turning around, they saw Gray Fullbuster sitting at a nearby table. Standing next to him was Loke, who gave a wink towards all the girls when their eyes met. Ray flinched but he didn't seem to notice.

"Once other teams hear about your success you'll be getting more join offers than you know what to do with." Gray continued, "Especially with that part about beating a pair of mercenaries and a gorilla maid."

"The fuck-?" Tyson uttered incredulously. Jordan also raised an eyebrow, not believing what he just heard.

"Uh, that was actually Natsu." Lucy said, making Gray frown.

"So it was you, flame bastard?!" Gray exclaimed, grabbing Natsu by the scarf.

"Got a problem with that, you Ice Princess?" Natsu shot back, butting heads with Gray.

"What exactly are they fighting about?" Skitt asked with a sweatdrop.

"Gray...your clothes are gone again." Mirajane said, pointing to Gray's lack of clothing.

"GAH! What?! When?! How does this keep happening?!" Gray exclaimed, as he looked down to see that he was only dressed in his boxers.

"Pervert." Ray said blank faced.

"Exhibitionist." Tyson mocked.

"Pain in the ass." Natsu deadpanned.

"What did you call me, you flaming piece of shit?!" Gray yelled, instantly back to butting heads with Natsu.

"Am I being ignored?" Tyson asked.

"You heard me Ice Stripper!" Natsu yelled back, baring his fangs.

"Why you…!"

And just like that, the two threw each other to the ground and started another brawl, punches and headbutts were thrown but everyone just watched impassively. Even the newcomers had quickly become used to their antics. Meanwhile, Loke had sauntered over to Lucy and Ray.

"You know, the both of you are really beautiful. How about the three of us form a team of love together?" Loke said, putting on all of his charm.

"Eh?" Was his only response from both of them.

He placed his hands on their shoulders and smiled at them. "Even looking through the dark shade of my sunglasses you're still so beautiful." Lucy adopted Ray's blank look as he continued. "If I were to look at either of you with my bare eyes, I'd go blind due to your sheer beauty."

"How about you take them off and let's find out." Lucy suggested, annoyed.

"These lines are actually effective?" Ray wondered.

Loke looked as if he was about to say something else, but then a glint caught his eye. Looking downwards, he spotted Lucy's gate keys hanging from her belt. For some reason, he fearfully jumped back, "You're a celestial wizard?!"

"Yep. She's got cows and crabs and stuff." Happy said from the side.

"AH, what a cruel twist of fate! I'm sorry but you and I can never be together! Our relationship must end here!" And he then ran out of the guild as quick as he could.

"What relationship?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"What is wrong with him?" Ray followed up.

"Maybe you remind him of the first girlfriend he had but it turned out she had a dick." Tyson bluntly blurted out, which prompted everyone near him to look at him in disgust, disbelief, and in Lucy's case, mortification. "What? It happens." He defended himself.

"Ignoring that…" Mirajane began, "Nobody knows the real reason, but Loke has a bad history with celestial wizards. And knowing him it probably does have something to do with a woman."

Jordan snorted, "Huh, he really does sound like a certain silver-haired shit head. Always throwing himself at girls and getting nothing to show for it."

Said silver guy got in his face, a dark look in his own, "Oh? Are we gonna have a problem Antenna Head?"

Jordan glared right back, "Depends, feel like eating your own nuts LegJob?"

"You son of a-!" Curtis immediately punched Jordan across the face.

The geokinetic Stand User wiped blood from his lips, "Let's dance Popsicle Dick!" And then tackled Curtis to the ground, getting into a scuffle similar to Gray and Natsu.

"And now the day begins!" Tyson called out. The rest of the team just sighed. But somehow, this caused the rest of the guild to laugh at the antics of all four fighters. And this in turn made them laugh as well.

Michael simply closed his eyes before stepping into the fray. Summoning **[Burner Heart]**, he had his stand catch the punches thrown by the two wizards, while he caught the ones thrown by his two teammates. He had a serious glare which his Stand had mimicked, causing all four to sweat out of fear.

"If you're going to fight with words that's fine. If you are going to use your fists then take it outside to avoid making a mess. **Ho capito**?" He said, switching to italian at the end.

"YES SIR!" His teammates replied. But when they didn't hear similar responses from Natsu and Gray, they bopped them on their heads. "YES SIR!" Neither of the two knew what Michael had said, but they followed the lead of the others out of fear. They were having really bad flashbacks right now.

The entire guild laughed even louder at Natsu and Gray because of how easily they cowed when Micahel got serious. All in all, despite a very early rough patch for the newest members, Fairy Tail is still as chaotic and fun as it has always been.

But the fun atmosphere was broken as Loke burst back through the front doors.

"EVERYONE, BAD NEWS! IT'S ERZA! SHE'S BACK!"

At the mention of the name, everyone in the guild immediately stopped what they were doing. Some fell over, some gasped loudly, a few screamed like little girls (*cough*Elfman*cough*) but everybody looked terrified.

Except for a certain six off-worlders. While Lucy looked a bit surprised, they only looked confused.

"Erza?" They all wondered, looking at each other while tilting their heads. Even **[Burner Heart] **tilted it's head as he was called back into his master's body.

A new challenge approached them, alongside one of Fairy Tail's biggest names...

**(Arc 1 Opening)**

**Play [Kekkai Sensen/ Blood Blockade Battlefront] Opening 1, "Hello World!" English Cover by [TYER]. Original by "Bump of Chicken"**

_**Looking past the open gate, twisted face, the heated afternoon**_

_**To see that yesterday's repeating, written here, the proof existing**_

(We see Magnolia in the middle of the night, the Fairy Tail guild hall in the distance.)

(The sun slowly begins to rise, turning the formerly night sky into a beautiful gradient of orange and lavender.)

_**Brand new day, I've got to say, still I'm bound to losing my way**_

_**Keep believing, relying, on empty vows and meanings**_

(The sun rises higher, causing a beautiful shine to fill the screen as night transitions to day.)

(Abruptly, the screen goes white, and then becomes somewhat grainy as it changes to a group photo of the sextet, posing and smiling. We zoom out to see it is one in a large series of photos containing different members of Fairy Tail. All of them were grouped together and arranged to resemble the guild symbol. The story title was written across it in a bold, graffiti font.)

_**Times I found myself retreating, somehow my fate decides what I'm to do**_

_**I'd do it well to keep on living, thinking back, it was embarrassing**_

(We see the six are walking through the streets of Magnolia, taking in all the sights and sampling the culture. Apparently unseen by everyone else, they each glow with the same aura from the first chapter, with Michael's being red.)

(We then change to the end of that day, where the picture was taken in a public park. Onlookers gave them odd stares for their posing, but they were paid no heed.)

_**Even if I can't recall, if I just try, I know I'll find it here**_

(A series of photos show their morning routine in the bathroom. Washing the sleep out of their eyes, fixing up their hair/fur, and brushing their teeth. Tyson got looked at weirdly for using a filing tool.)

(Another series shows them enjoying breakfast. Tyson, Ray, Skitt and Michael were speaking animatedly with each other, but Curtis and Jordan started yelling at each other for some reason or another, until Michael glared at them. They look away, a bit of fear in their eyes. The other three sigh in exasperation.)

_**If I let go, you will know, why every breath I'd hold**_

(They now walk towards the guild, smiles and confidence present on their faces.)

_**Look up into the sky, you with darkness in your eyes**_

_**It's because you're standing here, that this light is never ending**_

(We then see the shadow of a woman walking down the same path, carrying a large object above her with a single hand. Before we can see her face, it transitions to Michael's as he stares ahead, determination etched into his features.)

_**With the colors I have chosen, the world surrounds my empty self**_

_**With all the scars I've carried to escape this worthless hell**_

(The six now stand in a circle, watching in awe as the Fairy Tail wizards displayed their incredible abilities. Natsu breathing fire, Lucy summoning her spirits, and the various different spells used by its many other mages.)

(It then transitions to them standing on a pillar which seemed to overlook all of Fiore.)

_**In the middle, you're the hero, the world bestows upon us all**_

(We catch a glimpse of a man holding a giant scythe, floating above a group of unsavory characters. Then quickly transitioning to the scene of a large, monstrous shadow with the figure of a man standing before it. The man turns around to show he is wearing a demonic mask over his face.)

_**Before the curtain calls, you're on the stage until the fall**_

(A shadow of a woman stands atop a stone pillar. She spread her arms out and a flock of some sort of bird is summoned that rush towards the screen.)

_**What can I do? Pretending there's no pothole inside me**_

(There is a close up of Michael's fist as he clenches it in determination.)

_**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**_

(The camera snaps to his upper half as he poses. His left arm raised to shoulder height, elbow bent, and palm facing upwards. His right arm bent in front of him with his palm facing forward. **[Burner Heart]** appeared next to him, fists raised and ready to fight. Ray was shown with her arms crossed in front of her body, with her hands splayed open. **[Storm Rider]** hovered behind her. Curtis was leaning back with his chin on his right shoulder, the arm bent so his right hand was on his head while his left hand clutched his right shoulder. **[Hazy Winter]** was behind him, arms extended and fingers splayed as if it were about to use its abilities. Jordan had his right fist by his face while his left hand was open and his arm was bent as if he was about to receive something. **[Crocodile Rock]** was next to him, both fist sticking out as if he was double punching something, its mouth was open as if it was roaring. The rest of his team adopted various poses as well, but their Stands were not revealed yet.)

_**Hello, hey there, I am waiting**_

(The camera pans out to reveal the rest of Fairy Tail behind them)

(Shadows of the team zoom by as we close in on Michael. He brings his right arm up showing the Fairy Tail symbol on his palm, which overtakes the screen)

**The Most Bizarre Tail**

**Present Time:**

The guild was still in a tizzy, though to be specific, it was more like they weren't. Everyone had quieted down, and all arguments and talking had stopped.

"...Not to announce our ignorance or anything," Michael had begun talking, "But who is this Erza and why does it seem as if she has put the fear of God into everyone?" He then flinched as both Natsu and Gray got up into his face.

"_YOU DON'T KNOW WHO ERZA IS?!"_ They shouted in his face, only to choke as Tyson and Jordan pulled them away, Tyson grabbing Natsu by the scarf and Jordan grabbing Gray by his shirtless neck.

"Different worlds Dumb and Dumber. Not easy to forget that." The greenette said to Natsu.

"Stay out of his personal space." Jordan grumbled.

"My question still stands." Michael said, the tiniest bit annoyed.

"Well simply put, Erza is just about the toughest woman in Fairy Tail," Mirajane explained with a smile, "And she can be more than just a bit intimidating."

"Not only that, she's a candidate for the strongest wizard period!" Happy chimed in.

"Wow~! THE Erza is coming?!" Lucy was starry-eyed levels of excited at the news. "I've read all about her exploits in the magazines but I've never actually seen her!" She turned towards Natsu, Gray, and Happy, "You guys know her! What's she like?"

"Scary." Was their answer.

"...Huh?" Was her response. The Stand users chose to listen in as well.

"A wild animal?" Gray described.

"An evil beast?" Natsu added.

"More like a full on monster!" Happy finalized.

All of this had caused Skitt to shiver in place. His imagination created the image of a giant fire-breathing monster with the name Erza written on it.

"Well the one thing we can all agree on, is that she is tough. Definitely earning her title as the guild's strongest woman." Gray continued.

"Like 'Destroy-a-mountain-in-one-kick' powerful!" Natsu said.

Gray then shot back, "Don't downplay her, I guarantee she could destroy at least _three_ mountains with one kick!"

Happy then waved him off, "Don't exaggerate Gray, it's two at the most."

"One mountain is scary enough!"

Skitt was now seen hiding under a table, shaking like a leaf and a pot was on his head acting as a helmet. Where he got that, don't ask me.

_STOMP_

_STOMP_

_STOMP_

A series of loud footsteps echoing from outside the guildhall sounded out, causing everybody to panic even more, only much quieter.

"That's gotta be her…" A girl with long, pale lavender hair and glasses said worriedly. Her name was Laki, as the team had learned.

"Those are definitely Erza's footsteps." Wakaba said.

"Even the air has gone silent…" Macao added.

"I think I'm gonna go…" Loke whimpered as he quickly made a beeline for the door.

Michael gave the guild a look over, _'The way they're all reacting towards her… you'd think she was some sort of demon. But this pressure I feel...,'_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

He looked back towards the door, _'Someone strong is incoming…'_ The rest of his team watched warily, Skitt coming out of his hiding spot only to take cover behind Michael's legs like a scared child. Which he technically was.

And just as Loke made it to the door, They had begun to open. He stopped in his tracks as someone came through the doorway. The first thing all the newcomers noticed was the clanking of armor as that someone entered the guild. The next thing was that the figure was carrying what appeared to be a large, ornately decorated horn over their shoulder. Finally, they could make out the person's details. She was beautiful. Undeniably so.

She had vibrant red hair that went down to the small of her back. Brown eyes that were warm and inviting, yet at the same time hard and fierce. A slender and voluptuous figure that would leave most men in awe. She wore a set of armor made by Heart Kreuz, a popular fashion label of Earthland, with a blue skirt and black boots. She also had diamond shaped earrings. The armor set consisted of a metal breastplate, with a high armored collar and plated shoulderguards with each side being composed of four metal plates. On the breastplate's left side was the symbol of the Heart Kreuz fashion company. Lastly the armor's waist guard was composed of three plates, each held up by a belt she was wearing. On her upper left arm was the Guild's emblem, which was dark blue in color. This was Erza Scarlet. And if looks could kill, the interior of the building would be painted red.

(Fun Fact: In the manga, she wore a different set of armor and a sweater underneath it. After getting used to the anime version, I honestly thought she looked a little weird.)

With a loud "thud", she placed the horn on the ground and cleared her throat, "I have returned. Where is Master Makarov?"

"_She's pretty…"_ Both Lucy and Curtis whispered, the former in amazement, the latter with hearts in his eyes and a slightly pervy grin.

Mirajane answered the redhead's question, "Welcome back Erza. The master is at a regular meeting."

Erza nodded, "I see."

"Uh Erza… what is that thing you brought with you?" A guild member asked shakily.

Erza placed a hand on the object, "It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The townspeople were so grateful they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir." Then her voice turned a little more serious, "Do you have a problem with it?"

The random member cowardly answered while sweating, waving his hands in surrender, "No, not at all!"

'_She doesn't seem as bad as I imagined.'_ Lucy thought to herself.

Then Erza turned to the rest of the guild and spoke up, her voice loud and commanding, "Now all of you!"

Everyone gulped in panic.

"While on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may overlook it but I will not!" Her upset tone made most of the guild cower in fear.

"Cana!" Erza exclaimed, startling the brunette. "Put the barrel down, and drink and dress like a normal person!"

"Vijeeter!" a guy with light brown hair and a black and silver jumpsuit flinched, "Take the dancing outside!"

"Wakaba! Stop leaving your smoke ashes everywhere!"

"Nab!" a tribal dressed man by the request board flinched, "Stop lollygagging in front of the request board and take a job already!"

"(Sigh) Honestly, you all cause so much trouble." Erza said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But I'll be kind and not say anything for today."

'_She's said quite a lot already.' _Several people in the room thought to themselves.

"What is she, the Disciplinary Committee?" Lucy quietly asked Happy.

"She's Erza!" Happy replied with a smile.

In the back, Tyson winced as Erza tore into everyone for their bad habits, "Well she's clearly some kinda hard case. And not the fun kind. She'll certainly be a treat to be around. Whaddya think, Mikey?"

.

..

...

...

"... Mikey?"

Not getting a response from his Boss, Tyson turned towards his leader and saw something he never in his lifetime thought he would see.

Michael's eyes were wide, his breaths were quick and shallow, and a bit of sweat could be seen dribbling down his brow. He looked as if he was on the verge of passing out. Then with his right arm, he reached over to his left shoulder and started gripping it.

He looked like he was about to freak out, or pass out, or both somehow.

When he started swaying as if he would lose his footing and fall, Tyson quickly moved in and grabbed him.

"Mikey?" He quietly spoke to him, "You good? Talk to me man!" He proceeded to gently shake the brunette.

Michael seemed to snap out of his state, and with a few relaxing exhales, returns to normal. "I'm… I'm okay. Thank you Tyson."

"Ya sure? Ya looked like you were gonna break down." With all the mocking and ridicule Tyson has doled out, the concern in his voice and worry in his look seemed foriegn.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Michael reassured, "And… promise me you won't tell the others about this, okay."

Though definitely unsure, Tyson nodded in agreement, "Sure Boss, whatever ya say." The greenette then looked back towards the crowd, everyone was too focused on Erza reprimanding everyone to notice Michael, and his sharp eyes narrowed at the redhead, _'What is it about ya that made him act like that?'_ He thought as he scrutinized her with his gaze.

A mystery for another time.

Back to your regularly scheduled fan work.

Hearing Happy speak, Erza turned towards him, "Are Natsu and Gray here?"

"Aye!" He gestured over to the two, who were now in a rather "humorous" position.

"H-Hey, Erza..." Gray said, sweating and shaking in fear. The shirtless man was forcing a smile, as he wrapped his arm around Natsu's neck and shook his hand. "I-I'm getting a-along with Natsu like best friends always do."

"Aye." Natsu said, in a similar state to Gray.

"Natsu turned into Happy!" Lucy yelled.

"I see...best friends do fight every once and awhile." Erza said with a smile, nodding her head. "But I'd much rather see you two get along all the time."

"I-I mean, we're not best friends all the time b-but still…" Gray weakly tried explaining.

"Aye." Natsu repeated.

"What's with those bozos? They're acting as if their worst fears just strolled in." Jordan asked, as Michael and Tyson rejoined.

Mirajane brought them all closer and explained quietly, "You see, both Natsu and Gray are afraid of Erza."

"I think that extends to almost everybody in the building." Ray interjected.

"Well in this case," Mirajane continued, "A long time ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and she beat him up pretty badly."

"Natsu got trounced?!" Lucy asked in a shocked tone. She had seen what the Dragon Slayer could do. How strong was Erza if she managed to beat him?!

"And then she saw Gray walking around naked so she beat him up for that too."

"Eh, I'da probably done the same." Tyson stated.

"And then there was the time Loke tried to hit on Erza, he almost died after she was done with him." Mirajane finished, earning looks from the others ranging from confusion to shock.

"I'm glad to see you getting along with each other." Erza said with a smile, as she pushed a couple scarlet locks out of her eyes. "But, I actually have a favor to ask you both."

The duo's eyes widened a bit, as did the rest of the Guild's. The sextet stared on intently.

"I overheard a bit of disturbing news while I was out on my previous job. Normally I would consult the master about something like this, but I'll have to ignore it due to the urgency of the situation." Erza explained, putting her hands on her hips. "I want you both to assist me on this. You'll do so right?"

"EH?!" both said in a shocked tone. But they weren't the only ones in surprise.

"What the-!?"

"Erza of all people is asking for help?! She _never_ does that!"

"Then this has gotta be big!"

"We'll leave tomorrow, so get ready." Erza said, turning to leave. "I'll tell you both the details along the way.

"Ah...no...wait..."/ "I… didn't…agree…" They tried to protest, but Erza was already walking away. Leaving the rest of the guild to chatter about what just happened.

"Well, things seemed to have gotten interesting yet again." Michael surmised.

"Never a dull moment in this place." Jordan agreed.

"Erza… Natsu… and Gray working together, I never would've imagined this ever happening…" Mirajane said in a low tone. But still enough for those close to her could hear, "This could be the most powerful team Fairy Tail has ever seen...!"

That statement got several wide eyes and dropped jaws from the gang... though Ray simply looked as if she was fully awake.

Tomorrow would certainly be a spectacle. Whether it would be good or bad remained to be seen...

**Outskirts of Onibus Town, Sometime Later:**

On the outskirts of this small town, in a forest filled with dead trees that would be befitting of a horror movie, sat a moderately sized, shabby looking building made of stone. The sky around it seemed permanently grey and clouded.

This was the hall of a Dark Guild. Their name was "Eisenwald".

The inside of the building wasn't any better. The floor was cracked, debris was everywhere, and the place kinda smelled like death... and old shoes for some reason.

Several dozen men were walking into the large room while another one sat in the shadows.

"Hey, what guild do you think that armored chick was from?" Someone asked.

"I don't know." Someone else responded.

"Damn she was hot... I shoulda asked her out!"

"...You wouldn't have stood a chance."

"What was that?!"

The first speaker was shown to be a tall man with a square-shaped face and black hair, which is arranged on the front in a flat tuft going upwards. On his face are six distinctive whisker-like hairs, with each cheek bearing three of them. He dons a simple attire consisting of a zipped, brownish jacket with a large collar over a dark shirt, dark pants and simple shoes.

This was Byard, one of the guild's top members.

(Fun Fact: He takes rat-faced as a compliment.)

And he was getting in the face of the second speaker. This being a short, hunched and fat man with strange features: he doesn't seem to have a visible nose, and possesses very large lips, with his face on the whole resembling that of a fish. His hair is green and points upwards in many rounded, curved spikes. His attire consists of a crimson jacket with lighter edges and a high collar, held closed right under it but otherwise being left open, over a light shirt, which, being quite short, reveals much of his stomach, and loose, military-spotted pants, held up by a simple belt and tucked inside boots. He also has a massive necklace around his neck, consisting of several, very large metal discs connected by a rope.

Another top member, Karacka.

(Fun Fact: Uh... I got nothing. He is just fuck ugly.)

"Verily Byard, your unending libido, acquisitiveness, and incoherent imbecility ceased being a novelty long ago." Another male voice spoke up next to them.

He was a fairly tall and slim man with a slightly elongated face and skin that seemed to be a bit more grey in color than a normal person's. His hair was light periwinkle in color and long enough to reach his neck and was incredibly spiky, but jutted out towards his back. He had narrow, menacing yellow eyes that seemed to glare at everything, no eyebrows, and he had pronounced lower eyelashes. He had scars going across both temples that reached the outer edges of his eyes. His attire consists of a tight blue tank top, six white markings resembling rivets, which connected at the top to a similarly studded indigo colored mask which covers him from just below his eyes to the base of his neck. He has a belt with another, larger rivet shape embedded into its center, this time yellow, below which he wears slightly baggy trousers to match his shirt, two darker lines running down the sides of his legs, and indigo boots. He also wore indigo colored fingerless gloves with similar studs on the knuckles.

Another top member, Daidos.

(Fun Fact: He spits out more five dollar words than a snooty Harvard Graduate with a degree in english language.)

Then, another, more authoritative voice came from the shadows, "Is Kageyama back yet?"

While the first three were busy not talking to each other, the one leading the pack answered, "No but it shouldn't be much longer. It ain't easy breaking _that_ thing's seal, so it can't really be helped."

He was a tanned man with a pointed nose and a sharp chin. He has dark lines circling his oddly rhombus shaped eyes. He wore a distinctive jacket, dark yellow in the low part and a very dark blue in the upper one and on the sleeves, which came equipped with a tight hood covered in similar alternating stripes. He wore a plain white shirt under his jacket, simple pants and shoes. Strangely, his fingers were circled by dark bands.

Another top member, Rayule.

(Fun Fact: He won't last long, you'll see why.)

"This is no time to be hesitant," The shadow voice spoke again, "The perfect time to strike has arrived..."

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

The speaker stepped into the light, revealing an extremely tall, lean-built and yet mildly muscular man with silver hair, which is held pointing upwards in spiky strands on top of his head, but hangs down to the left of his face in a distinctive tuft, and reaching down to his shoulders. His eyes are dark and he has an elongated face with sharp features and somewhat pointed ears, but seems to lack eyebrows. His eyes are circled by dark lines and each of them has a simple tattoo right below it, consisting of a pointed line going down vertically, crossed with two more, larger horizontal lines. The upper part of his body is similarly tattooed, but with much larger, intricated and blue-colored motifs, which take on spiraling forms, and adorn his shoulders, biceps, pectorals and back. He was bare-chested, and his lower body is covered in different layers of clothing: he sports a long, worn skirt, reminiscent of a hakama, below a darker, shorter cloth, held up by an even lighter and shorter one tied like a belt. He has a black scarf wrapped around his thin neck, with its edges hanging on his back and traditional geta sandals on his feet. His attire is completed by a pair of distinctive dark gloves, each adorned by a light "X" on the back, and by bandages wrapped around his forearms. He wielded a scythe with a very long and jagged blade mounted on a gnarled staff, curving lightly before the blade itself. Opposite to the blade, on top of the staff, is a decorative skull of some unidentified animal.

"Now, while those geezers are all at their meeting..." He finished with a sinister grin.

This was the strongest wizard in Eisenwald, Erigor, the Death God.

(Fun Fact: The length of the blade varied in the anime and manga.)

Currently unknown to our heroes, a storm approaches...

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**A well aged but legible image of a train station appeared.**_

**Magnolia Train Station, Next Morning:**

With the light rumbling of train engines and the footfalls of several people, the train station was as bustling as it usually was.

Though the sounds of familiar voices arguing echoed louder than all of that.

"This was the worst idea ever! Why do I have to be stuck with you?!"

"That is my line! If Erza wants help, I can handle that by myself! A loser like you shouldn't come along!"

"Then go by yourself! I don't even want to go anyway!"

"Sounds like a plan! And I get to watch Erza kill you afterwards!"

Yeah, Fairy Tail's dynamic duo were in each other's faces again, slinging one insult after another. Lucy, now dressed in an orange and yellow blouse, sat on a bench behind them muttering "I don't know them" repeatedly. While Happy sat next to her eating a fish.

As to why they were only insulting each other and not trying to rip their faces off? The answer was simple.

Curtis and Jordan had them both in a full nelson and were holding them back. The remaining four members of the team were sitting beside Lucy, all of them watched impassively. Skitt was lying down on top of Michael's head taking a nap.

"I did not wanna put up with this bullcrap this early in the mornin'." Tyson said irritably.

"Why did you all tag along in the first place?" Happy asked with a mouthful of fish.

"Mira asked us." Ray explained. "She knew that Natsu and Gray would start fighting again whenever Erza wasn't around, so we all came along to make sure things didn't escalate."

Tyson then raised a finger, "And now I have a question," He pointed at Lucy, specifically her lap, "What is that?"

The thing he was pointing at was a short and stout white creature with bland eyes and a golden horn-like nose reminiscent of a carrot, making it slightly resemble a snowman.

"Ah! He's one of my Celestial spirits! He represents Canis Minor, the dog constellation! I call him Plue! Isn't he the cutest~?"

During their time here, the team learned more about Lucy's magic, and how she was able to summon physical manifestations of known constellations. It was another shocking moment when both sides learned that the same star formations existed on these other worlds, but they shelved those theories for the time being.

Right now, the three awake newcomers were staring at the little creature with blank, confused faces.

"I don't see it."

"Me neither."

"How the fuck is that a dog?"

Before Lucy could give a valid and perfectly plausible explanation as to why the Nikola race can look the way they do and still be considered canines;

"Sorry if I kept you all waiting."

Erza showed up, causing the conflicts to cease. Michael had also gently shook Skitt into awakening.

"Oh hi Erz- HUH?!" Lucy started to greet her, only for herself and the offworlders to recoil at the sight of her pulling a cart full of luggage.

"She's bringing all of that?!" The celestial mage exclaimed.

"How much ya wanna bet there's a kitchen sink in there?" Tyson quietly asked Ray, who only shrugged.

Natsu and Gray immediately went to their friendship façade, even doing a little jig.

"It's time to go best buddy!"

"Aye!"

"One Happy is enough!" Lucy yelled, already mentally exhausted.

Tyson took that moment to cough. Strangely, it almost sounded like he said the word "pussies".

"Good. I'm glad to see you two get along." Erza smiled, before turning towards Lucy. "And what was your name? I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday."

Though a bit surprised at being put on the spot, Lucy responded, "I-I just joined the other day. My name is Lucy, Mira asked me to come along with you guys. It's nice to meet you!"

"Glad to have you along. My name is Erza." The redhead introduced herself, "I think I've heard of you. Aren't you the one who defeated a mercenary gorilla with only your little finger?"

"HUH?!"

"GAHAHAHA!" Tyson laughed, "Whoever comes up with this stuff is a friggin' genius!"

Erza turned her attention to him, and subsequently the rest of the gang, "And just who are you?"

Michael stepped forward. Tyson spared him a small worried glance. He vividly remembers the state the brunette was in, and was worried that he was going to relapse right here in front of everybody.

Thankfully, Tyson's fears proved to be unfounded as Michael politely bowed and stuck out his right hand, "Greetings Ms. Erza. We joined the guild on the same day as Lucy. And like her, Mirajane has asked us to accompany you on your mission. My name is Michael, this is my team. Jordan, Curtis, Ray, Tyson, and Skitt."

Each member gave their own greeting as their name was called.

"We are honored to meet you."

Erza gave them all a quick once over and put a hand to her cin, "Hm, I never expected this many people to come with me. But, the more merrier." She smiles, "If Mira recommended you all then I'm sure I will be grateful to have you along."

"Pleasure's all ours." Michael responded. Tyson let out a silent relieved breath.

With everyone's attention on her, Erza continued speaking, "While I trust all of you to be able to handle yourselves, I must warn you that this job will be rather risky."

"R-Risky?" Lucy parroted in a worried tone.

"Well what's life without a bit of risk?" Tyson asked, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, Erza," Natsu said, getting the redhead's attention, "I'll come with you, but under one condition."

"What are you doing you idiot?!" Gray whisper shouted.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Erza asks.

Natsu clenched his fist, "When we get back to Fairy Tail, fight me again!" He said straight faced without a hint of worry.

Lucy and Gray reeled back in surprise, while the offworlders looked intrigued. They remembered how Mirajane said that these two fought before, with Natsu losing badly. It seemed as if he was really confident in his winning this time around.

"You idiot! Do you have some kind of death wish or something?!" Gray hissed, his eyes wide in shock.

"I've gotten a whole lot stronger since our last fight," Natsu continued, "And this time I won't lose!"

Erza simply gave a small grin at his declarations, "Yes, I can tell you have improved since last time. But it remains to be seen as to whether or not you can beat me. Either way, I accept your challenge."

"Oh yeah!" Natsu said with enthusiasm. Now he was blowing flames up into the air. "I'M ALL FIRED UP!" He then ran aboard their train, "LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"

**On The Tracks, Some Time Later:**

"Kill me…" Natsu moaned weakly, as he sunk into his seat. Sweat poured off the dragon slayer's body, as his stomach churned. Not even sixty seconds into the trip and his motion sickness had kicked in.

"Man you're pathetic." Gray said with an annoyed huff. No sympathy for the dragon boy.

"I know this happens all the time, but that still looks painful." Lucy said, giving Natsu a sympathetic look.

"I'm surprised as to how he's able to get anywhere if it's that bad." Jordan said.

Aboard the train, the four wizards sat in one booth, while the six Stand Users sat directly across the aisle. Michael sat directly between Jordan and Curtis as to deter them from fighting each other.

"Well then, I guess there is no helping it," Erza said as she patted the spot next to her. "Natsu, come sit by me."

The Dragon Slayer stumbled over and swapped spots with Lucy. Erza gave him a small smile, right before punching him in the gut and knocking him out, much to the surprise of the others.

"... Was that necessary?" Ray asked slowly.

"This way the trip will be a little easier on him." Erza elaborated as Natsu let out an unconscious groan while laying in her lap.

_'Scary…'_ Was a thought shared by everybody.

It was then that Lucy made the brave attempt to break the silence, "So Erza, as of yet I haven't seen any other types of magic at Fairy Tail besides Natsu's." She directed at the redhead, "If you don't mind me asking what type of magic do you use?"

Happy chose to answer for her, "Erza's magic is really pretty! It makes her enemies bleed everywhere!"

"Awesome." Tyson stated.

"How is blood pretty?" Lucy asked with a disgusted look.

"My magic is nothing special." Erza said, turning to face Gray. "Actually I think Gray's magic is very beautiful."

"You think so?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. He then stuck out his left hand and put his right fist into it. A small bit of light came from within it and the air began to chill. When he took his hand away, a small figurine of the Fairy Tail symbol stood in his palm, "I use **Ice magic**."

"Wah! That's so cool!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes wide in awe. Suddenly realization struck Lucy and she gasped. "That's why you and Natsu don't get along. Fire and Ice, you two are so straightforward it's actually kinda cute."

Gray just looked her in the eye, "No. I just hate his guts." He said as bluntly as possible.

"Yeah, and by that logic Mikey and Curtis would be tryin' to kill each other all the time." Tyson added.

Lucy looked downcast that her theory was shot down.

But hearing what Tyson said, Erza looked towards the named individuals, "Oh, are you fire and ice wizards as well?"

"In a way." Michael began, as he prepared to give the short on their abilities again, "What the six of us use are called Stands. Physical manifestations of our fighting spirits that are fundamentally similar yet different from magic. Albeit, according to the logic of this world."

"I'm sorry. 'This world'?" Erza asked.

"Here we go again…" Tyson muttered.

Over the next few minutes, the Stand Users had explained their story to Erza. Their arrival and even the events of their first job.

While she seemed stunned at several instances, she took it in stride rather easily, "I see… Well, now that I am aware of your situation, know that I will do my best to assist you whenever possible." She said before taking a bite out of some strawberry cake.

… Oh yeah, they all got snacks in between the story.

"Thank you Erza. I'm certain that with the strength you are known for our endeavour may prove to be easier." Michael said gratefully.

Tyson gave a small smile, _'Maybe his weird episode was just a one time thing.' _He thought, _'Still though, gotta keep an eye on everythin'.'_

"So I know Mikey's **[Burner Heart]** can control fire, Ray's is an insect with long range, Curtis' **[Hazy Winter]** makes ice-" Lucy began.

"It warms my heart knowing you remember such details." Curtis said in his suave voice.

"-And according to your story Jordan's Stand manipulates earth," She finished, ignoring Curtis. She then looked to Skitt and Tyson, "What can your Stands do?"

Skitt spoke up, "Oh! Mine is really bright, and super duper strong!" He said with enthusiasm only a child can produce.

_'Cute…'_ Erza couldn't help but think.

Tyson leaned back in his seat, one leg over the other and arms behind his head, "I'm not gonna spoil anythin', but let's just say that like Erza, my Stand is well acquainted with blood~." He said creepily, his sharp teeth glinting.

_'Does he get off on making people uncomfortable?'_ Lucy thought, sweatdropping.

"Anyway," Gray began to get the conversation back on track, "What's all of this about exactly Erza? You asking for help on missions doesn't happen very often."

"Right, let me explain," Erza said, as she closed her eyes. "I was on my way back from my last mission. When I stopped by a bar in Onibus, where mages tend to gather. A certain group there happened to catch my attention."

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**Onibus Drinking House, Three Days Ago:**

"C'MON ALREADY! WHAT'S THE HOLD UP ON THE BOOZE?!"

We find Erza seated near the back of the bar, nursing a drink, when she turns her head and spots five men on the other side of the bar. Four were familiar, one was a new face. And a certain whisker faced one was hassling one of the waitresses.

"Get the lead out already!" Byard yelled as he waved his empty mug, his feet were kicked up on the table.

"I...I-I'm sorry, I'll be r-right back with your drink." The waitress said in a shaky voice, before she ran back to the bar to fetch the drinks.

"Byard just calm down already." The hooded man, Rayule, chastised as he leaned back in his chair.

"How can I not be pissed off about this?!" Byard exclaimed, as he slammed his mug onto the table. "We finally found where **Lullaby** was hidden, but because of that stupid seal we can't get to it! Not even with all of us!"

"Idiot, will you pipe down?! Someone might hear you!" Rayule hissed.

"Your inability to remain silent will undo all of our meticulous orchestrations, you rodent faced reprobate." The spiky headed Daidos insulted, his eyes buried in a book.

Byard growled at him, but the fifth man just chuckled, "Well it's not like having more people will break it anyway." He said before standing up.

He was a young man of average height and weight with black eyes and black hair which he ties in a short, spiky ponytail. He wears a white shirt with a high collar and an intricate symbol on its back over a plain, dark red undershirt. He also wears a pair of aquamarine pants, black shoes and small black earrings in each ear.

"I'll handle this from here. You guys head back to the guild." He said with a smile. "Tell Erigor I'll be back in three days with **Lullaby** in tow."

"For real?! Did you figure out how to break the seal?!" Byard said with wide eyes.

"As efficacious and reliable as always, Kageyama." Daidos complimented. "Unlike a certain clodpole we have the misfortune of being associated with."

"Oh fuck you Daidos!"

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"**Lullaby**?" Gray questioned as he rubbed his chin.

"Like the songs you sing to children to help them sleep?" Curtis asked.

"Is it some sort of magic that puts people to sleep?" Lucy suggested, turning to look at Erza.

"I don't know...but since it's sealed, it probably contains a very powerful magic." Erza replied, as she looked at the floor.

"Wait, I don't get it." Gray said, leaning forward in his seat. "So you came across some wizards that wanted to break the seal off some unknown magic...maybe it was just for a job they were doing."

"That's what I thought at first." Erza said, as her eyes darkened. "That is, until I heard them mention the name Erigor. He's the strongest mage in the Dark Guild Eisenwald, Erigor the Death God."

"Death God?!" Lucy parroted, as a shiver ran down her spine.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he didn't earn that name 'cause he likes rock 'n roll." Tyson said sarcastically.

"He earned that name because he exclusively took assassination requests." Erza explained, causing Lucy to gulp in fear.

"Killing to make a living. One of life's biggest ironies." Michael said, "Is that why they were classified as a Dark Guild?"

Erza then looked at him, "Somewhat. When the council banned all such requests and forbade wizards from taking them, Eisenwald chose money over following the law. They were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago and forced to disband, but they still continue to operate even with their master in custody."

"I think I'm out of my depth here…" Lucy said as fear filled her body.

"It was a blunder on my part...If I had remembered the name Erigor back at the bar, I would have slaughtered them all." Erza in a menacing tone, as her gaze darkened.

"Rrrreally wanna go home now…" Lucy shuddered.

"Hey Lucy, why are you looking slimy?" Happy asked.

"It's sweat!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No use beating yourself over something you had no control over." Michael said, "At any rate, given how Eisenwald chose earning blood money over actually having a real guild, I think it's a fair assumption that whatever **Lullaby** is, it's something that can be used to kill people." He indicated. The thought, though logical, was no less shocking.

Michael then paused to look over his shoulder for a second before saying, "Pardon me, I'm going to find a bathroom." He then stood up and left.

"He may be right about that; however, we can't confirm if **Lullaby **is even capable of doing such a thing, but that's a thought to keep in mind." Praised Erza.

"Alright. I get it now." Gray said, "If it was just those guys at the bar you definitely could've handled it. But an entire guild…" He trailed off.

"You are correct. I am not foolish enough to believe that I can take on a whole guild on my own. That's why I am asking for help." Erza admitted. She then got a fierce look in her eyes. "I don't know what I don't know what their plan is or how **Lullaby** ties into it, but we cannot disregard this matter."

She turns to face them all, "We're storming the Eisenwald guild."

The clarification of their mission got a variety of responses from those present or conscious.

Gray smirked, looking pumped, "Sounds interesting."

Tyson's grin turned feral, "Let's rock."

Jordan, Curtis, Ray, and Skitt narrowed their eyes, though the feline also exhaled a bit of steam from his nostrils.

And Lucy?

"I really should have stayed home…"

"Now you're super slimy!"

"I TOLD YOU IT"S SWEAT!"

… I fear for their future.

**Onibus Station, Some Time Later:**

With the mission on their minds and the train now entering the station, everybody set off.

"So do you think the Eisenwald goons are still going to be in this town?" Gray asked.

"I don't know, but that's what we're here to find out." Erza responded.

"Let's try and make it quick. Better to take these guys down sooner rather than later if they have a plan in motion." Jordan said.

"Tch, it'll be like findin' a needle in a haystack at this rate." Grumbled Tyson.

Suddenly, Lucy felt that something was wrong, and when she looked around, she realized what, "Hey, where is Natsu?" She asked as she noticed the absence of the pinkette.

A silence fell between the group as they heard the rumble of the departing train in the background.

"WE LEFT HIM ON THE TRAIN!" Lucy shrieked.

"WHAT?!"

"Geez, how irresponsible do ya guys have to be to leave one of your own teammates aboard a train when ya know he hates transportation?" Tyson dryly remarked. "That's 'cause ya ain't got the same kinda cohesion we got, and furthermore-"

"Wait I don't see Mikey anywhere either." Lucy interrupted, realizing the brunette in the red jacket was nowhere to be found either.

Hearing that, Tyson's eyes, as well as the eyes of the rest of the offworlder group slowly widened into expressions of abject horror.

"_ ! ! !" _

**Back Aboard the Train:**

Natsu was still sitting in the same spot as before, groaning in pain as his innards fought a war with themselves.

"Excuse me sir, but is this seat taken?"

Natsu glanced upwards to see a man with dark hair in a spiky ponytail smiling down at him.

The Dragon Slayer didn't say anything, but he managed to weakly gesture to the seat across from him. The dark-haired man let out a content sigh, as he sunk into the seat across from Natsu. After a few moments the newcomer leaned forward, and began to examine Natsu. The Dragon Slayer continued to groan in pain, as sweat poured off his body. When the man spotted the Fairy Tail mark on Natsu's arm, he let out an impressed whistle.

"My, my, my you seem to be in pain. Are you okay? I'm Kageyama, and who might you be?"

Natsu managed to moan weakly in response.

"Fairy Tail. A regular guild, huh...I envy you." Kageyama said with a sickly sweet smile.

_**ゴ**_

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_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**An old photo of the Eisenwald guild building was shown. It had certainly seen better days.**_

**Back at the Station:**

"Damn it! I was so busy explaining the situation I forgot about him!" Erza said. She then held a fist and clenched it, looking troubled. "I'm such a fool! Natsu hates all forms of transportation! This is all my fault! Please, someone hit me for my penance!"

Lucy put her hands up and tried to dissuade her, "That seems like a bit mu-"

_**CONK!**_

But she, Gray, and Happy were left to gape in horror as Tyson's fist, somewhat shrouded in a bluish green aura, impacted the back of Erza's head, sending her crashing face first into the ground hard enough to crack it!

.

..

…

"_WHY?!_' They all yelled.

"I needed to hit somethin', she wanted to get hit, and now we're both thinkin' straight!" The greenette defended. He then picked the red headed girl up by the shoulders and spoke, "C'mon! We both effed up so let's fix it!"

Erza shook her head, despite how she always asked people to hit her whenever she felt that she messed up, she honestly wasn't expecting the hit to actually come. Getting her senses back, she grunted and began to scan the train platform. She quickly spotted a conductor, and stormed over to him. She grabbed the man by the collar, and frantically began to explain the situation to him.

"So that's what's going on! I need you to stop that train!" Erza exclaimed, as she released the conductor. "Please understand, it's for one of our comrades!"

"What?! I can't stop the train just because someone forgot to get off!" he exclaimed.

Erza glared at him before giving him a headbutt knocking the poor guy out before he could muster a word out. She quickly pulled the emergency stop switch. Alarms went off and lights flashed throughout the station. The other people in the station looked around either in fear or confusion.

"Let's go after Natsu and Michael!" she told the group before she turned to a random group of people behind her, "Excuse me, but could you please deliver this to Hotel Chili?" Erza asked, as she handed over her cart full of luggage. "Thanks."

"Who even are you...?" One of the people asked, but Erza had already left.

"I'm starting to think everyone in Fairy Tail is a big weirdo." Lucy said with a sweat drop at the scene in front of her.

"I'm normal." Gray said

"You're naked, you don't get a vote." Jordan said.

"SHIT!"

Tyson only laughed, mainly due to how Erza was doing all of this while a comically big welt formed where he hit her.

Ray then asked, "Do we have a way of catching up to the train?"

Several minutes later, Ray would regret several life choices.

Earthland had a series of vehicles called Magic-Mobiles. They were like normal cars, but they used magic for fuel, and needed a constant stream of it from the driver in order to move.

The driver in this case being Erza, who clocked the thing into overdrive. Everyone except for Gray and Tyson were riding within. Nearly everyone was freaking out due to the high speed.

Tyson on the other hand…

"WOOOOO HOOOOO!" He cheered as the vehicle continued to accelerate.

And surely, they were catching up to the train.

**Back on the Train, Several Minutes Earlier:**

Natsu, unable to move due his motion sickness, was forced to sit through Kageyama's little spiel.

"Speaking of Fairy Tail...Mirajane is pretty famous isn't she. I always see her in magazines, and she's always so beautiful. I can't help but wonder as to why she went off active duty." he then began ranting, "I had noticed that normal guilds have lots of beautiful girls...I envy that about you, because there's no sign of a girl ever coming near my guild. C'mon, why not share a little bit?"

Natsu only growled at the man in front of him, but received a fierce kick to the face. "Don't give me the silent treatment you little shit! That's discriminatory to dark guilds! Do you know what we call you in Eisenwald?! Flies! Flies!" Kageyama shouted with an insane grin. But it was wiped off his face when a left hand roughly grabbed his ankle.

"Does my associate's face look like a floor mat for you to wipe your disgusting feet upon?" A voice said darkly.

Following the arm the hand was attached to, he saw a certain brunette in a red jacket. And Kageyama couldn't stop himself from flinching at the heavy glare in his eyes.

"If not," Michael raised his right arm and manifested **[Burner Heart's]** over his own, to the continued surprise of Kageyama, "Then I advise you leave."

With his fist covered, he threw a fierce punch that slammed the dark wizard in the chest, sending him flying through the seats and impacting the back wall.

Coughing, Kageyama stood up and glared hatefully at Michael, "Who the Hell are you?!"

Michael only raised his head by a slight margin, literally looking down his nose at the man, "I don't feel inclined to give my name to someone who can't beat a so-called fly." He then flexed his left hand, discreetly showing off his symbol. "And you should learn to conceal your emotions better, I could feel the tension of your anger from the other side of the train." He stated, which only served to make the man even angrier.

Suddenly a loud screeching sound echoed throughout the train, and after a few moments the train came to a complete stop (Via the others pulling the emergency brake). Michael had jerked forward a little while Kageyama fell forward. He groaned in pain, as he pushed himself off the ground. But Kageyama's eyes widened when he saw that his pack was open, and its contents were scattered on the floor.

"The train," Michael said to himself, but something sticking out of Kageyama's bag got his attention. The object looked like a wooden flute with a three-eye skull carved at the top.

"That flute…" He whispered.

"Shit, you saw it!" Kageyama said, as he began to sweat.

"You said a lot of crap back there," That second voice made Kageyama whirl backwards, only to get a fiery punch to the face, courtesy of Natsu. "Here's my answer to that!"

Once again, the dark mage was sent flying across the train car, only this time, he went through the wall and into the next car. Kageyama spit out some blood, as he struggled to get to his feet. When he did, he spotted Natsu glaring at him.

"Who's the fly now you bastard?!" Natsu exclaimed with a grin, as he cracked his knuckles.

"Y-You son of a bitch." Kageyama rasped out, as blood freely flowed from his nose.

"Glad to see you back on your feet Natsu." Michael greeted.

Suddenly the intercoms on the train came to life. "Attention passengers. We've confirmed that the emergency brake was due to a false report. We'll be departing shortly. We thank you for your patience."

"Oh crap! I gotta get outta here!" Natsu yelled as he ran and grabbed his bags.

"It probably is best that we take our leave." Michael agreed.

"Hold it right there!" shouted Kageyama, getting their attention, "You picked a fight with Eisenwald! Don't think you can get away with that you pathetic flies!"

"I believe you are mistaken _amico_." Michael spoke, "It is _you_ who has picked a fight with us and Fairy Tail." His glared deepend, "And you'll be fortunate if anything remains of you when we're done."

Natsu then added, "So watch yourself! Next time, we're taking this outside!" He would've added more, but he quickly covered his mouth as the train started to move again.

Seeing him close to collapsing from his motion sickness, Michael grabbed Natsu before glaring back at Kageyama as he picked up the flute, "Watch yourself." Was all he said, before dashing towards the nearest window...

**Now:**

Tyson was still enjoying the ride, right until he heard a shatter from out in front of him, and saw his boss and Natsu as they jumped out of a window. At first he thought the pose Michael was doing was a little cool, and for some reason brought to mind a little english boy jumping out of a carriage. But then he realized that they would be right in front of him in a few sec-

"Oh shit!" He yelped and ducked. But right behind him, Gray popped his head up to see what was wrong.

"What the-" Was all the ice mage could utter as his eyes bulged out of his head at the sight of the Dragon Slayer flying straight at him at breakneck speed. Before he could react, Natsu's head crashed on his own sending him flying off the vehicle.

Michael however, was perfectly fine and landed in Gray's spot.

'_Well that went better than-' _Was what he was thinking, before he and Tyson were jolted off and tumbled to the floor.

Erza had slammed on the brakes, ""Natsu! Are you alright?!" She exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah I'm good." Natsu said, rubbing the lump on his forehead.

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Gray said, as he dusted himself off.

"Nobody did." Curtis remarked, taking the brief moment to light another cigarette.

"Natsu we're so sorry!" Happy exclaimed, landing on Natsu's head.

"Happy! Lucy! Erza! How could all of you forget me?!" Natsu whined, as anime tears poured from his eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry Natsu." Erza said. She then grabbed Natsu's head and thrust it into her breast plates, which did hurt. Alot.

"It's okay!" Natsu squeaked out. The others couldn't help but flinch. That thrust into the chest armor would definitely hurt. Maybe even a potential concussion if you were unlucky.

"You guys missed it. Some weirdo on the train tried to pick a fight with us. He said he was from Eisenwald..." Natsu said, causing Erza to snap and slap Natsu to the ground.

"You idiot! That is exactly who we're after! How could you let him get away?!"

"WHAT?! This is the first I'm hearing about this!"

"I explained everything on the train! Listen when people are speaking to you!"

Those in the background just blankly looked at the scene in front of them, _'She already forgot she knocked him out didn't she?'_ Was the collective thought.

At that moment, Michael and Tyson re-entered the scene after dusting off their clothes. The former then intervened before things got out of hand.

"Erza," He said, making an irritated scarlet woman turn to him. "You knocked him unconscious back on the train, remember? This is the first time he's heard of this." Erza's face became surprisingly cat-like as she realized this.

'_He corrected her?!'_ The wizards all thought.

"Uh, Mikey?" The man in question looked downwards to see Skitt staring up at him with big dewy eyes, "We're sorry for leaving you on the train..." He said sadly.

Michael smiled before crouching down to pat him on the head., "It's alright Skitt, you didn't leave me behind. I stayed on purpose. I felt that something was off so I hung back to check it out. Then that Eisenwald idiot attacked."

Erza coughed into her fist, ignoring her little embarrassing moment, and walked back to the vehicle before attaching the SE-plug, "Do you remember anything about him?"

"His biggest discerning feature was that he had a pony tail." Michael answered, "But he did have this odd flute with him."

"Yeah!" Natsu added, "It looked like a skull except it had three eyes."

"Sounds creepy." Tyson, Gray, and Jordan said together.

"A flute with a three-eyed skull." Lucy said, as she began to shake in fear.

"What's up Lucy?" Happy asked, flying up to the blonde.

"No...it can't be...it's just a made up story...but...if that flute is what I think it is based on Natsu's description… then..." Lucy said, clenching her fists. "That flute is **Lullaby**! And Michael was right, it's death magic!"

"What?!" Erza exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"A cursed song?" Gray parroted with a raised eyebrow.

"This is one of those things where the situation is as bad as it sounds isn't it?" Jordan asked rhetorically.

"I've only read about them in books, but there are deadly types of spells and magic that are forbidden to be used by wizards right?" Lucy asked Erza..

"Yes." She answered, "There are a multitude of spells out there which will kill whoever they were casted on."

Lucy's eyes hardened, "**Lullaby** is worse than that."

"Then what're we doin' fuckin' around here for?!" Tyson yelled, "Let's go smash these bastards flat!"

The group all replied, "Yeah!" They quickly rushed to the vehicle and hurried to track down Eisenwald before it was too late.

**Kunugi Station:**

The station had been overrun.

Patrons at the Kunugi train station ran in fear from a group of mages that had marched into the train station. The group of dark mages was led by none other than Erigor, who pulled his scythe out of an unfortunate conductor who tried to stop him.

"Get everything off the train. The people, the luggage, everything. And if anybody defies us feel free to kill them." The reaper commanded with a maniacal grin. "This train belongs to Eisenwald!"

Daidos was doing his part, throwing someone's suitcase out, when one of the passengers lunged at him with a stick.

"I won't just lay down and let you bastards do this!" He yelled.

Daidos easily dodged the sloppy attack and grabbed the man by the face. Yellow energy danced round his hand, and the man started to shrivel, becoming increasingly emaciated, up until he looked like quite literally skin on bones.

"Pitiful." Was all Daidos said as he threw the husk away.

Erigor continued to oversee everything. Him and his Guild had hijacked the train as soon as it arrived at the station. Erigor had been told that Kageyama would arrive with the **Lullaby **soon, and was excited about it.

"Erigor.. "

Ah, the same man he was thinking about had just shown up. Though his state wasn't good. His clothes were scuffed up and torn, and he had a large bruise on his cheek and a burn mark on his chest from where he was attacked.

Erigor raised an eyebrow at his state, "What the hell happened?" he asked. Not really concerned but merely curious.

"That's not important. What is, is that I've managed to break the seal." Kageyama said with a grin, as he pulled **Lullaby **out of his pack. "This is it, Erigor."

"I see..." Erigor said, grabbing **Lullaby **out of Kageyama's hand. "This is it, the forbidden magic, **Lullaby**."

"YEAH!" The other Eisenwald members let out a loud cheer.

"Great work Kageyama." Byard compliment with a smirk.

"Excellent.." Rayule said, as he adjusted his striped hood.

"After all this time our orchestrations will come into fruition." Daidos was smiling under his mask.

"Previously it was just a tool for casting death curses. But then the great Black Wizard Zeref strengthened it and turned it into a demon flute!" Erigor said with an evil smirk, "All who hear it's haunting melody will die! The **Mass-Murder Curse Magic, Lullaby**! Men, let's get the show on the road!"

"Right!" All of them shouted before their tain began to chug forward.

Further down the track, Erza's Magic-Mobile raced towards Kunugi station. Gray, Tyson and Michael held onto the roof of the magical vehicle, while the others sat inside. Erza was pumping a large amount of her magical energy into the vehicle, so it could go its top speed. The scenery raced by, as the four wheeler flew down the tracks.

"Mass-curse murder magic!?" Erza said to herself, clenching her teeth in anger. "If Erigor got ahold of such a thing...Bastards! What are they planning to do?!"

Michael's eyes were hardened as they sped forward. The danger of the situation was very real...

_**(Eye-Catch)**_

_**Another card appears, this time, was a slim humanoid with what looked like cat ears and a tail.**_

_**Stand Name [?]**_

_**Stand Master - ?**_

_**Power - ?**_

_**Speed - ?**_

_**Range - ?**_

_**Durability - ?**_

_**Precision - ?**_

_**Growth Potential - ? **_

**City of Clover, Noon:**

Clover was a town located in a rather mountainous setting in the southeastern part of Fiore, near the neighboring nation of Bosco. It was also the Town where the guild Masters hold their regular meeting.

Now we move to the building where the meeting was held. The interior looked more like they were having a party rather than a serious meeting.

"Oh Macky, I'm so jealous!" An elderly, bald, and cross-dressing man called out. He had a purple spaghetti-strap shirt accessorized by a gold and fuchsia hoop necklace, and vertical-striped pink and purple shorts. He also had lipstick and blush on, and there were tiny white wings on his back. "Your wizards are all full of life and they're such cutie-pies!"

This was Bob, the master of the Blue Pegasus guild… yes he is a man.

(Fun Fact: He was actually pretty handsome in his younger years.)

"I heard one of them gave some snooty upshot quite the spanking!" He placed his hands on his cheeks and squealed.

"Ah, that was my new recruit, Lucy!" Makarov shouted with a drunken blush, "We just took her in recently. And she's got a body that won't quit!" he swayed to his left and right as he remembered the blonde's HUGE breasts.

"Ah, you dirty pervert!" Bob exclaimed as he turned around to hide his face in embarrassment.

"I don't think this is something to be laughing about Makarov." A new face said. He was a slim man of average height, he appeared to be in his late fifties or early sixties. His mildly squared face was covered in several wrinkles, specifically at his mouth's sides, below his eyes and on his forehead. Despite his age, his hair was kept in a youthful style, almost reaching down to his shoulders in a straight cut. He had a pair of sunglasses that he never seemed to take off. He wore a plain T-shirt and a pair of pants. Alongside them, however, he donned a distinctive headgear, being a dark hat reminiscent in shape of those worn by fictional warlocks and witches, possessing a wide brim and a torn top pointing backwards. Circling the hat was a lighter band sporting massive, rounded spikes, and was virtually identical accessory that comes in the form of a collar around his neck.

"Yeah it is great to have energetic members, but they go way overboard. There are people in the council who are worried that your guild is gonna destroy an entire city one day. And I don't blame 'em"

This was Goldmine, master of the Quatro Cerberus guild.

(Fun Fact: He gives off the cool grandpa vibe even when he doesn't want to.)

"Oh let those blowhards say what they want!" Makarov waved him off, "I just want Lucy's body to destroy me!" He grinned perversely.

Bob placed a hand against his check while flapping his other hand, "Now Macky, it's not proper for a master to fiddle with their wizards like that!"

The master of Fairy Tail just laughed him off again, before sliding up to Bob, "Speaking of cute ones, who's that young lady you brought in with you?" He pointed over to a nearby window sill where someone was sitting. The light shining through hid their general features from a certain angle, but they were definitely female.

"Oh she's someone I've been keeping an eye on for the past few days. She's certainly proved to be quite a capable darling!" The cross-dressing master said with his usual enthusiasm, before sighing a bit, "Sadly, a little encounter may have ended any chances of Blue Pegasus recruiting her. I love my boys as much as the next master, but they simply need to understand the word 'no'. She even admitted that she was in a relationship!"

"Well there goes that plan…" Makarov muttered under his breath.

"Master Makarov! Master Makarov!" a little blue bird with a wizard hat chirped. It was carrying a letter in its talons. "I've got a message from Ms. Mirajane for you!"

"Thanks, good job!" said Makarov before opening the letter, a small projection of Mirajane appeared.

"Hello Master! I hope you've made it to the conference safe and sound!" The projection spoke.

Most of the other guild masters gathered around to get a look, some of them with hearts in their eyes. Makarov only laughed at them again, "This is Mirajane, our poster-girl! She's a real looker, ain't she?"

"Actually, something wonderful happened during your absence!" The projection continued making Makarov raise an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Erza came back from her most recent job and formed a team with Natsu and Gray! Lucy and Happy went with them too of course."

At that notion, Makarov began shaking in absolute despair. His body started sweating in unnatural amounts.

The projection didn't even mind as she continued, "Now I know you're probably thinking that those three being grouped together will only end in unparalleled amounts of destruction, but I should have you know that Michael and his friends have gone along with them."

Makarov's demeanor immediately changed, and another set of ears were listening in.

"I think that with them in the mix, this team can perform better than either of us could've expected!" The projection kept going on, "And I truly think that with all of them together this might be the most powerful team Fairy Tail has ever seen! I was so excited by the news that I just had to tell you about it. See you when you get back!"

The projection vanished, leaving most of the building in a worried atmosphere. Except for two people.

Goldmine looked at Makarov to see him strangely calm, "How are you not freaking out about this? Three of your most troublesome wizards on the same team means that an entire city might _actually_ get leveled."

"I am worried Goldmine, really. But I trust Michael and his team to make sure nothing bad happens."

Bob gave a confusing stare, "And just who is this Michael?"

Makarov made a magic circle with his hands, creating a new projection which showed the brunette and his team standing side by side. All the female masters and several attendants were struck by his handsome look. Some others had questions about their appearance. One just said Skitt was cute. Makarov cleared his throat, "These young lads are six other new additions to Fairy Tail."

Bob put his hands to his cheeks, "My my, they're all so gorgeous!"

"And they've proven to be exactly what you want out of a wizard old chum. Energetic and boisterous, but so far zero collateral damage." Makarov slightly bragged to Goldmine, before zooming in on the leader, showing the determined gaze he had this morning, "This one over here is Michael, he has shown not only great strength, but a natural sense of leadership. Now look at his eyes."

Both masters did so, and what they saw stunned them to the point of immobility.

Michael's eyes spoke of someone who did not fear death. Someone with resolve harder than the purest of diamonds. And someone who would allow no harm to come to pass on those he cared about. The two wondered how a young man could have eyes like that.

Goldmine swallowed before he talked, "Those eyes… Now I see why you are calm."

Bob nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Most people with eyes like those tend to make serious waves across the planet."

Makarov nodded, "And that is a look shared by all of his team." He said to the continued surprise of the guild masters, "It is those eyes that give me faith that they can handle whatever comes their way."

"I can't believe it…"

The three turned to the voice to see the female from before walking up to them.

"It really is them…"

**Back at Kunugi Station:**

Erza's Magic-Mobile came to a brief stop near Kunugi station. From where the Fairy Tail mages and Stand users could overhear the commotion happening in the station. A crowd of civilians were being held back by soldiers.

"A guy with a giant scythe and his lackeys suddenly stormed aboard the train!" exclaimed an elderly passenger.

"I know about those guys!" another shouted to a royal army guard, "They're members of a Dark Guild that have been skulking around this area!"

From the top, Lucy leaned out of the wheeler's window, "I could understand if it were a car or a boat, but a train!" she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Not exactly what you expect when you hear the term 'Train Robbery'." Ray said.

"And it certainly isn't the best choice for a getaway vehicle seeing as it can only go whichever way the tracks go." Jordan added.

"But they are certainly faster right?" Gray asked while wearing only his boxers.

"Then they gotta be in a hurry to get someplace specific if they're goin' through the trouble." Tyson commented before shifting her eyes toward Gray. Annoyance clear in them, "Where the fuck are your clothes?!

Everyone sweatdropped at that familiar exchange.

Michael looked over to the side, "It appears that the military has been called in to handle the situation." He observes.

"Still though, it is better if we continue following after Eisenwald." Erza said, before restarting the car and driving off.

**Back Aboard the Train:**

Eisenwald's members were waiting for the train to arrive at their destination. Meanwhile Kageyama was explaining what happened to him.

"A pair of flies from Fairy Tail?" Erigor asked the Shadow magic user.

"Yes, it was a pink haired guy and this other man with a red jacket." Kageyama informed him as his body shook slightly. For some reason, just remembering the glare that guy gave him made him slightly quake in fear, "But don't worry! They were nothing but a joke!" he bluffed to save his life. Erigor was more terrifying than that man, he believed.

"Did they see **Lullaby**?" Erigor asked with a nasty glare.

"They didn't get a long look; besides, they're too late. They were just a pair of idiots who- "

He was cut off as suddenly two blades of wind shot forward, and slashed the ends of Kageyama's ears. The shadow wizard howled in pain, clutching his bleeding ears. Erigor leaned forward, and glared at Kageyama.

"So you're telling me you allowed not one, but two Fairy Tail wizards to see the **Lullaby **flute and then you let them get away?!" Erigor was not pleased.

"B-But it's not like they know anything about the plan! And even if they did there's nothing that they or their guild can do about it!" Kageyama pointed out through the pain in his ears, only for Erigor to growl and stab the floor in front of Kageyama.

"Maybe, but we cannot afford to take any risks, not at this crucial stage!" Erigor then grinned, "But luckily we had _that _plan devised just for this occasion" he twirled the **Lullaby **flute and smirked sadistically.

"Then Oshibana Station..." Kageyama returned the smirk with his own.

"We can't have flies buzzing around where they are not wanted..." Erigor said as he grinned, "And we will be there to swat them down."

"Yeah!" his subordinates shouted.

**Outside of Oshibana Town, the Fairy Tail Team:**

Rushing down the slightly populated streets of the town, Erza's Magic-Mobile was rushing forward like a wild animal. The group through a few occasional apologies when they nearly ran over several pedestrians. Gray, Michael and Tyson held onto the roof for dear life as Erza drifted through corners.

"Erza, slow down!" Gray screamed, as Erza made a particular tight turn. "You're gonna overload the S.E. plug!"

"I think we'll crash before that happens!" Jordan yelled from inside.

"If Erigor plays that flute, scores of people will die!" Erza exclaimed over the roar of the four wheeler's engine. "Human lives are in stake right now! We cannot afford to slow down right now!"

"But at this rate you're gonna use up all of your magic before we even start fighting!" Gray argued, as he ducked under some flying debris.

"I don't care." Erza said, as the four wheeler started to go even faster. The vehicle had cleared the city limits, and was now racing towards the next town. "If it comes down to it, I'll use a stick or even my bare hands to fight." The knight then turned her head to look up at Gray. "Besides I still have you guys with me. That's why I brought you and Natsu along with me. Plus with what I was told aboard the train, with Michael and his comrades with us the odds are more than even."

'_She's gutsy I'll give her that.'_ Michael thought, before looking down at the S.E. plug. Unseen by the others, he paled a little bit. For some reason, seeing a significant amount of something being pumped out of Erza made him… uncomfortable.

Back inside the vehicle, Natsu was still dealing with his motion sickness, Lucy was helping out, the Stand users were mentally preparing themselves, and Happy had a paw to his chin. "Hmmm…"

"What're you thinking about?" Skitt asked.

"I think I had something really important to tell Lucy, but I forget." The blue cat said.

"Huh, me? What is it?" Lucy tilted her head to the side.

"I just told you, I can't remember." Happy said, his brow furrowing.

"Well you're making me curious, so try and remember." Lucy said, as Happy began to rub his chin.

"I'm gonna be sick!" Natsu exclaimed, as he shot out of his seat and leaned out the window.

"Not feeling...good..." Happy muttered, his scrunching up as his mind began to work.

"Easy you idiot! Are you trying to throw yourself out?!" Curtis yelled as he and Jordan grabbed Natsu's vest and tried to pull him back in.

"That was the idea…" Natsu moaned as his cheeks swelled.

"Hmm, what was it?" Happy hummed as he watched Natsu get pulled back into the vehicle. "Lucy's sick? Lucy's weird? Lucy's fat?... Lucy's fat AND weird?"

"WHY IS EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AN INSULT TO ME?!"

Looking back towards the distance ahead, Michael saw a plume of smoke billowing upwards, "Up ahead!"

"That's Oshibana Station!" Erza said, as she pumped more magical energy into the S.E. plug. "Everyone hold on!"

They began moving even faster, destination in sight...

**Oshibana Station: 5 Minutes Later:**

The group's Magic-Mobile skidded to a stop in front of the station where a large crowd clouded some of their view, but they were able to see the entrance to the station was being blocked off. Many military guards stood trying to keep civilians out.

"Alright everyone time to get out." Erza said, pulling the S.E. plug of her wrist. "We need to find out what's going on." Erza hopped out of the driver's seat with the rest of the group following closely behind her.

"Thank God that's over... " Ray whispered, still shaking from the ride.

"I know right?" Natsu moaned. His face was green and he was being carried by Jordan.

In front of the crowd was an officer speaking through a megaphone, ""Ladies and gentlemen please stay back! Due to a train derailment, the station will be closed to the public until further notice!"

"A derailment?"

"I heard it was terrorists!"

"Let's go!" Erza exclaimed, pushing her way through the crowd of people. "Out of my way!"

"Everyone please step aside!" Michael yelled, following right behind Erza.

"Comin' through folks!" Tyson followed as well, the others were right behind him.

"But guys the station is closed!" Lucy said, struggling to push through the crowd and keep up..

"I think obeying the rules are the least of our worries right now." Curtis stated. He threw the butt of his cigarette away.

"He's right Lucy, we have no time to waste listening to them." Erza said, shoving a bystander off to the side. "Every second counts, so we have to be fast." Finally reaching the front of the crowd, Erza spotted another officer trying to keep people back. "What's going on inside the station?" Erza asked, walking up to the officer.

"What? Who are you?" The officer asked, raising an eyebrow. Instead of saying anything, Erza growled and headbutted the officer. The man groaned, and fell over unconscious.

Erza spotted two other officers, and approached them. "What's going on inside?" The officer just gave Erza a surprised look. Again Erza headbutted the officer, knocking him unconscious. Erza walked up to the third officer, and tapped his shoulder. "What's going on inside?" The officer let out a startled shriek when he turned to face Erza. Growling in annoyance, Erza, like before, headbutted the man.

Michael sweatdropped a bit at her methods, "This is incredibly counterproductive."

"Guess she only likes people who give her an immediate response, doesn't she?" Lucy asked, as she watched Erza walking up to several other officers, head butting each of them.

"Now you're actually getting to know her." Gray said with a sweatdrop. "She can be rather unorthodox at times."

"Put your fuckin' clothes back on." Tyson muttered, as he watched Erza walk back towards them.

"Eisenwald is inside," Erza said, putting her hands on her hips. "Let's go!"

They all charged into the station, Ray and Skitt dropped several apologies to all the guards that Erza headbutted. And Jordan grumbled as he was still forced to carry Natsu.

"A platoon of soldiers went in earlier but have yet to return!" Erza said as they ran.

"And Eisenwald?" Michael inquired.

But as they made their way to a stairwell, the group was greeted by a brutal sight. Dozens of royal army soldiers littered the steps, their weapons broken and several splotches of blood were splattered on the walls and floors. But the disturbing part was, all of them had been reduced to lifeless looking husks. Their eyes dark and sunken and their bones visible through the skin. Some were still alive, evident by their quiet raspy breathing, others were definitely dead.

Lucy's covered her mouth. She felt like vomiting at the site before her. The sight made all the Fairy Tail mages cringe, even a hardened mage like Erza. The Stand users felt their gazes harden.

"Call me disrespectful," Tyson said darkly as he walked over and inspected a broken piece of a soldier's pike, "but I think we're on the right path."

"I can't believe they've all been defeated." Happy said in disbelief, as he floated over the emaciated soldiers.

"Our enemy is a dark guild, which means they're all mages." Erza said, making her way through the station. The team all took great care to step over the fallen soldiers in their way. "A military platoon like this one wouldn't stand a chance. But even so, I've never seen anyone capable of this."

"They just tore through them all." Michael said as he and Ray gazed at blood that had been splattered across a rail map. "They're going to pay for this." He growled out.

"We'll make sure of it. Now c'mon, the main platform is this way!" Gray said, once they had moved past all the soldiers. The ice mage pointed towards a set of doors at the end of the hall. Everyone sprinted down the hall and burst through the doors at the end of it. On the other side of the door was something that the Fairy Tail mages weren't expecting. Waiting for them appeared to be the entirety of Eisenwald's forces, dozens of wizards with the top five at the front of the pack. Erigor was spotted sitting atop a train.

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

_**ゴ**_

"Heh heh," The reaper chuckled, "Welcome to our parlor Fairy Tail flies!"

"That's a lot of people…" Skitt said as he looked around the station.

"I never expected this many…" Lucy hissed worriedly, realizing they would have to fight them all.

Michael stepped forward, "You with the scythe. I take it you're Erigor, the so-called 'Death God' I've been hearing about." He said, glaring at the man in question. He just smirked and chuckled menacingly.

"Natsu, wake up. We got a fight on our hands." Jordan said, trying to shake the pinkette awake.

"No good. Between the train, the Magic-Mobile, and you it's been a motion sickness triple combo!" Happy told him.

"You did not just compare me to a vehicle!" Jordan yelled with white eyes.

Kageyama leveled a glare in Michael's direction. He also saw Natsu right behind him. "You damn flies! It's your fault I got in trouble with Erigor!" He gestured to his bandaged ears.

"That… voice…" Natsu mumbled, his sickness starting to vanish.

Meanwhile, the brunette smirked at the shadow wizard, "Our fault? I think you're quite mistaken. We're not the ones who instigated our previous encounter out of a petty sense of envy. And we're not the ones who allowed our enemies to escape with crucial information because we failed to secure a magic weapon in our little handbag." He said that part with finger quotes,"So if anyone is to blame for what happened back on that train, it's you."

This enraged Kageyam, _"You piece of-"_ He growled, only to be stopped as Daidos put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself."

"You don't frighten us." Erza declared, eyes set in a glare. "What do you intend to do with **Lullaby**?"

"Hey, we're just having a little fun." Erigor answered with a twisted grin. "We haven't gotten a lot of jobs recently, and we're getting really bored." All the other Eisenwald mages burst out laughing, as Erigor began to lift himself off the ground using jets of wind. "But you little flies really don't get it do you? Tell me, what do all train stations have?"

"He's flying!" Lucy an Skitt said in awe, as they watched Erigor levitate higher into the air.

"He's using wind magic!" Happy pointed out, as a strong gust of wind blew all around them.

Tyson stuck his pinkie in his ear, looking kind of bored, "I dunno, people?"

"What? No!" Erigor said as he set himself down on a nearby loudspeaker, "All places have people you idiot!"

"Vomit stains?"

"No."

"Litter?"

"No!"

"Homeless people we willfully ignore even though it hurts us inside?"

"NO! You dumbass, it's loudspeakers! Like the one I'm sitting on! Get it?!" Erigor yelled, agitated.

"Well apparently our train stations are completely different from one another." Tyson rebutted annoyed. "So what? Your plan is to broadcast the tune of your little magic flute?" He said, to the shock of the other wizards as they realized he was right.

Erigor regained his composure and laughed, "By now a few thousand nosy onlookers have gathered around this station. And if I raise the volume high enough my melody of death will resonate throughout the entire city!"

"You bastards…" Curtis growled out.

"You would indiscriminately murder everyone in town?!" Erza roared, taking a threatening step forward.

"This is a cleansing." Erigor then explained his ideals to the Fairies, "One of all the fools who fail to appreciate the rights they hold so dearly! Who remain willfully ignorant of the plight of those who had their rights stripped away. It is a sin to live oblivious to the injustice of this world. And now, the God of Death will dole out their punishment!" Erigor brought his scythe to his mouth, and ran his tongue along the blade. "The punishment being DEATH!"

"Killing people isn't going to get you your rights back, it'll only make things worse!" Lucy argued, glaring at Eisenwald's ace, "That's the whole reason you were kicked out of the wizard league in the first place!"

"We didn't come for rights!" Erigor clenched his fist, "What we want is power! And with it we can wipe the slate clean and gain control of the futu-!"

_SHING_

Erigor stopped speaking as he felt… something graze his right cheek. Putting his fingers to it, he saw that blood had been drawn. He heard his underlings gasp at the sight. Gritting his teeth in anger, he looked to the group that was opposing him and saw the green one with his arm stretched out as if he had thrown something, a strange greenish blue aura surrounded the limb. Several of them seemed to look at him as if they were surprised as well.

"Y'know," Tyson drawled, "I never really understood the whole monologuing thing that bad guys make a habit of. I mean, not only are they telling the heroes the details of their plan, they're just leaving themselves open to attack. Or if the hero is trapped, they just become more motivated to break out. It's just one of three mistakes that make an idiot villain. The other two bein' never making sure the hero is dead, or just looking up."

He smirked as Erigor started growling, before it shifted to a frown, "But honestly, I hate guys like you." He put his left fist to his chin and his right fist under his elbow, "Guys who think their causes are noble 'cause they don't care how many innocent necks they gotta step on to achieve it. But I've seen guys fueled by real idealism, and the look in your eyes tells me that you do this because you like to see a world soaked in blood. You're someone who likes to go around and destroy shit that makes other people go 'My God that's wonderful!' because you think you're cause is just. What separates you from those guys I mentioned earlier? They at least got the balls to admit what they're really after. So I advise you to shut your mouth, Blowhard. The world may be a shitty place, but you're the only I hear that's bitchin' about it."

The guild wizards were stunned by the words of the usually rude and disrespectful greenette. To hear such words come from him was somewhat sobering, but in a good way.

"Wise words Tyson." Michael said as he stepped in front, looking right at Erigor, "You won't be killing anybody today. We won't allow it."

"You annoying little flies!" Kageyama said as he sat on one knee. A purple magic circle appeared beneath him, "You'll die long before you can get a glimpse at our new Dark Age!" A shadow shot forward at blinding speeds, slipping past both Erza and Gray. A large fist spouted out of the ground, and prepared to smash Lucy.

"Lucy!" Erza turned too late.

"Dammit!" Curtis wouldn't make it. Neither of them would.

Except for one.

In a flash, Natsu managed to step in and swing a flaming fist, incinerating the shadowy construct.

"You again..." Kageyama growled, as he watched his shadows begin to dissipate.

"I knew I recognized your annoying voice!" He exclaimed, igniting both fists, "Time we fight for rea… wow there's a lot of them." He says upon finally noticing the numbers.

Jordan then stepped forward, joining Natsu and the others out in front, "That just means plenty to go around."

While the heroes prepared to fight, Erigor sat by, cleaning the scratch on his face and smirking.

'_You've fallen into my trap, you foolish Fairies,' _The reaper thought with a smirk, as he watched events unfold from his perch. _'We had to make a few adjustments, but it's all going according to plan. There are people who must hear the melody of death. And I will not rest until they do!'_

"You're up against Fairy Tail's strongest team!" Lucy declared, pointing at the enemy mages, "Be ready to lose!"

"I leave them to you men!" Erigor started floating again, "Show these fools the power of the Dark Guild Eisenwald!" He flew towards a nearby window and broke through it with a crash.

"He ran away?!" Jordan questioned.

"He must be heading to another part of the building!"

"Natsu, Gray!" Erza called out, getting the attention of both wizards, "I need you two to go after him!" Both Gray and Natsu looked confused, as they stared at Erza. "If you two work together not even Erigor can beat you." The both of them were too busy trying to glare each other to death, so Erza then snapped at them, "Are you listening to me?!"

The two flinched, and then ran off while doing their best-friend act.

"Hey two of them are getting away!" An Eisenwald mage exclaimed.

"They're going after Erigor!" Another Eisenwald mage pointed out.

"Leave them to me." Rayule said, as black bandage-like tendrils extended from his fingers. Using them as grappling hooks, he chased after Gray and Natsu. "I'll swat those flies flat!"

"I'm going too! That pink-haired bastard is going to pay!" Kageyama placed a hand on the floor and his body seemingly melted into a shadow.

Michael shared a look with his own team, they shared a brief nod before he turned to Erza, "Erza, Ray, Curtis, and myself will go back them up."

"What about us?" Lucy asked, worried about their well being.

"We're here to help!" Skitt said, paws raised in determination. Jordan was right next to him cracking his knuckles.

"Very well." Erza replied, "I trust you can handle yourself."

"Your trust is not misplaced." Michael smiled. He and his allies split and chased after the fire and ice wizards, "Let's meet up when we're all done! Tyson!" The greenette looked at his Boss, "Do your thing."

That small message got Tyson to grin widely, "Yessir!" He then ran in a different direction from the others. While he was running, one of the Eisenwald wizards jumped into his path. He had black hair, a purple jumpsuit, and carried a crystal ball.

"Hear my **Fortune Telling** and despair at your bleak future! You will have a dangerous encounter involving water and wom- WAUGH!"

Whatever he was saying was silenced as Tyson leaped up and kneed the fool in the face, "Move it Shortbus!" He kept running, not paying him any mind. "What was that guy's deal?"

"Tch, Kageyama and Rayule are too belligerent. They better take care of those guys after 'em." Byard said, before leering at Lucy and Erza, "Shame that the other blonde chick left. But I think we can still have fun with these two."

"Cease your imbecilic prattle. Their actions are for the sake of the mission. They are estimable. At least compared to you." Daidos said, earning a glare from Byard.

"Where's Tyson going?" Happy asked.

"We'll explain later. For now, we got other matters at hand." Skitt looked towards the crowd of enemies.

"Right. As soon as these fools are dealt with, we will join them!" Erza said.

"Just us?" Lucy weakly asked, still not believing that they had to beat them all.

The Eisenwald's mages grinned and snickered at the lineup in front of them, some in amusement and some in sick pleasure as they eyed the two girls like hot pieces of meat.

"The guy may look a little tough, but what can two girls and a cat do?" Byard said, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "Both of them are gorgeous though."

"It's too bad we have to kill them." An Eisenwald mage said, licking his lips.

"Oh, I can't wait to see the Fairies' strip show." Another Eisenwald mage said, blood trickling out of his nose.

"Well you're all certainly charming." Jordan said sarcastically, next to him in a flash of green light, **[Crocodile Rock]** appeared, it's snarling and vicious form startling some of the enemy. "You're lucky our jackass with the silver hair ran off, otherwise he'd be murdering you all. Sadly, I might actually be worse."

"What is that thing?"

"It's like some kind of monster!"

Lucy couldn't help but swallow dryly at the sight of Jordan's Stand. Where Michael's gave a sense of power and nobility, and Curtis' gave off a cool, graceful atmosphere, this new one seemed to be nothing but pure, animalistic rage.

'_They said Stands are embodiments of the soul,'_ She thought, _'And if that's true even now, what does that say about Jordan?'_

"You depraved scum!" Erza spat out before a magic circle formed in front of her, from it a Sword appeared in her hand. "Insult Fairy Tail again and I can't guarantee any of you will live to see tomorrow!" She fiercely stated

"She's got a sword!" Skitt and Lucy say in awe. Though the former's was more in a childish sense.

"Heh, your magic is not so rare, lady." An Eisenwald mage said, as a sword appeared in his hand.

"We have plenty of swordmages here as well." Another Eisenwald mage said, equipping two swords into his hands. "We'll strip that armor off you, and see what you got underneath."

The Eisenwald swordmages all charged forward at once.

"Lucy! Happy! If you don't plan on fighting then stay back! Skitt, if any of them get past us, you're on defence!" Jordan called out, before he and Erza charged forward at the Eisenwald wizards by themselves.

The opponents that lunged at Erza quickly closed in and were surrounding her. Her eyes scanned over the mages, counting their number. As soon as they reached her, she slashed two times sending them flying, cuts over their bodies and weapons broken. With a roar, she charged towards the next group, blowing through them with not so much as a scratch. She blocked, parried, countered the mages often without even looking at them. Lucy could only stare in utter disbelief as Erza tore through the Eisenwald mages, without even breaking a sweat. At the end of her rampage, over a dozen Eisenwald mages lay defeated behind Erza.

"How about this?!" shouted another random mage as he and two others gathered magic in their hands. They shoot three blasts of magic at Erza.

Seeing this, the red haired woman jumped in the air where and with another flash, her sword was swapped with a large spear. Before they could comprehend what they had witnessed, they were taken out by Erza. Immediately after landing on the ground, the spear vanished as was replaced by a pair of smaller swords. And she only continued cutting down her opponents.

Jordan was dealing with his own pack of foes. While charging forward, **[Crocodile Rock]** struck the ground, sending several pillars of stone flying upward at an angle and impacting several enemies in front of him. Jordan then ran up one of the pillars, before jumping off and throwing a dive kick at the chest of another thug. He then quickly moved and uppercutted the jaw of another enemy before grabbing the collar of his shirt and throwing him into three more. One tried to attack Jordan from behind, but **[Crocodile Rock]** quickly reappeared and smashed its fist into his face, sending him flying with blood leaking from his face.

Another squad of long range wizards opened fire with magic attacks, but the reptilian Stand repeatedly struck the ground again. This time making walls of solid rock that managed to withstand the assault. With that done, the Stand threw a barrage of punches at the wall it had created, shattering them and sending the debris flying at the squad of mages. Each one impacted at high velocity and swiftly took them down.

While other wizards were stunned at the sight of their allies being taken down, Jordan was already on top of them. His Stand was by his side, fist tightly clenched and growling even louder, before it let loose another powerful barrage of erratic punches at the final group of wizards.

"**WARUSHAAAAAA! ! !"** It screamed as the group fell to its might.

"I-incredible!" Lucy watched with wide eyes as the pair tore through the dark mages like nothing. They didn't even seem winded.

"D-Damn it!" An Eisenwald mage exclaimed, fear evident in his voice. "That guy! Is he using some kinda spirit magic?! I've never seen anything like that! And that woman, how can she **requip **her weapons so fast?!"

"What's **requip**?" Lucy and Skttt asked Happy.

"Magical weapons function the same way as your Celestial magic Lucy," The blue cat explained, "The user can keep any number of weapons stored in a personal pocket dimension and call them out whenever they want. When they switch between those weapons, it's called **'requipping'**."

"Awesome~!" Skitt said with starry eyes.

"Just wait, Erza is just getting started." Happy said, a grin spread across his face.

"Erza?" Karacka said, as his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I've auricularly discerned that name afore." Daidos had a hand to his chin.

Jordan and Erza now stood back-to-back, "There's still a whole bunch of the left." The former said.

"How annoying…" Erza said, as a magic circle appeared under her body. "Stand back, I'm wiping them all out at once."

Jordan was about to ask her what she meant, but she then was surrounded by a gold light after her armor came right off. "What the…"

Meanwhile the thugs were starting to give perverted stares at Erza. One of them shouted out loud, "Ooh, her armor is coming off!"

"What's happening now?" Skitt asked as he shielded his eyes.

Happy smirked and spoke as something else began to appear on Erza's body, "Most **requip **users only have the ability to swap out their weapons. But Erza is able to swap out her normal armor for different enchanted sets that enhances her abilities."

When the light started to die down, most of Erza's body was masked in smoke. But when it cleared, what they saw made them gasp. Erza's body was covered in an entirely new armor that seemed to be made entirely out of silver metal. The upper portion of the armor consisted of a small breastplate that was composed of feather-shaped plates that pointed upwards with a large metal flower on the front, leaving the tops of her breasts exposed, as well as her stomach. Her biceps were covered by metal straps and her very large plated gauntlets sported feather-shaped plates at the edges. Her waist was circled by large, decorated plates reminiscent of feathers that laid on a long skirt. She wore a pair of plated boots which were partially hidden under her skirt, each boot sported metal ornaments shaped like wings. Erza was also wearing a neck guard made of feather-like plates and a tiara with prominent metal wings. The armor also sported two pairs of large metal wings which adorned Erza's back, composed of metal feathers which got longer and larger at the edges. Lastly over a dozen swords appeared in a circle behind Erza.

"This is Erza's magic: **The Knight**!"

**"Heaven's Wheel!"**

"Whoa!" Lucy said in awe of Erza's new armor.

"Erza?! She can't be..." Karacka said, his and Daidos' eyes widened as the swords behind Erza began to spin rapidly.

"Dance my blades!" Erza said, as his swords formed a large circle around her waist. "Cut them down, **Circle Sword**!" The swords shot out, and cut through the Eisenwald mages that had surrounded Erza. The attack wiped out a majority of the remaining Eisenwald mages.

"She beat most of them in one shot!" Lucy said in wonder.

"Damn you!" Byard roared as he charged at Erza, his hands covered in some kind of light magic, "You're dealing with me now!"

"Byard don't! Do you have any conception as to who she is?!" Daidos called out.

Without another word, Erza slashed right through the rat faced mage, beating him instantaneously.

"S-She took out Byard in one hit! T-There's no doubt!" Karacka said, as fear filled his body. "She's the strongest w-woman in Fairy Tail! Titania Erza!"

"Amazing!" Lucy and Skitt exclaimed.

"She's certainly earned the title if this is any indication…" Jordan said, certainly impressed.

Around Erza were the bodies of all the fallen Eisenwald mages. The only one left standing was Karacka. As soon as Erza's piercing gaze landed on Karacka, he bolted out of the room.

"He might be heading after Erigor." Erza said, as she turned to face Lucy. "Lucy you go after him."

"Me!?" Lucy exclaimed, pointing at herself.

"Please!" Erza yelled, though with a tone and glare that left no room for argument.

"Yes ma'am!" Lucy yelped as she and Happy ran out of the room.

After they left, Jordan spoke to the redhead, "This whole thing was pretty impressive... considering you were running on fumes the whole time."

Erza released a heavy sigh and requipped back into her Heart Kreuz armor. Sweat poured off Erza's body, as she began to pant heavily, "I'm impressed that you could tell. None of the others could. Gray was right, I did overdo it with the Magic-Mobile."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Skitt asked, looking up at her.

She gave a small smile, "It isn't too serious. A little bit of rest so my magic can replenish and I'll be fine. For now, I'll have to leave everything to the rest of you."

"Well isn't this a serendipitous opportunity."

They all turned to the voice to see the masked man Daidos leaning against the train.

"The great Titania Erza in an enervated state." He spoke, "I would be a dunderpate not to capitalize on this grand turn of events."

"Ener-what? Dunder-who?" Skitt was confused by his big words. Question marks were floating above his head.

"And just who are you Needle-Head?" Jordan asked, on the defensive.

"Oh, where are my manners? I am one of the elite members of the Eisenwald guild. You may call me Daidos." He introduced himself with a hand on his chest.

"I didn't see you fighting back there with the rest of your buddies." Jordan pointed out, "Were you just as scared as the fat guy?"

"Of Titania? Very much so." Daidos elaborated as he slowly raised his arms to his sides, "I know when to pick my battles. But then I overheard that she is now low on magical energy, so I feel as if now is the most opportune time for me to act. For you see, my particular magic rigorously relegates me to support status. But that is exactly where I shine. Now for the pride of Eisenwald, I will at least ensure that Miss Scarlet does not leave here alive!"

He fully brought his arms up, yellow energy dancing on his fingers. Then dozens of yellow tendrils shot from his fingertips and connected to the bodies of the unconscious Eisenwald members.

"**Battery Magic: Over Booster!"**

Most of the fallen mages spasmed as if they had been electrocuted, before slowly starting to stand back up, each emanating a small aura of power.

"They're getting back up?!" Jordan hissed, looking around worriedly.

"Heh heh! Thanks for the boost Daidos!"

"I feel like a million jewels!"

"Now, while they're tired, let's kill these miserable flies!"

Daidos looked back towards the Fairy Tail team, "This is my **Battery Magic**. I can give and take vital and magical energy as I please. Though I must take so that I can give. And I have quite the deplorable habit of quite literally draining the life from people."

"Draining…" Erza whispered, before she thought back to the husks of soldiers they saw earlier, "... Those men on the stairway, that was you!" She realized.

Daidos' eyes narrowed, "Mere drops in the bucket. Those dullards could not offer any more than mere scraps of energy. I was preserving energy for weeks in accordance with this mission. Draining countless incognizant fools of all they had to offer so that I may bolster our ranks for just such an emergency. Erigor is not the only member with an epithet."

The men had fully recovered by this point standing by the masked man.

"I am called Daidos the Leech!"

Erza seemed to struggle to get up but Jordan held her down, "Don't! You're too exhausted, you'll only hurt yourself!"

"I can't just sit here!" Erza rebutted.

"Jordan, watch over her."

They saw as Skitt walked out in front of them, green eyes glaring at the enemy, but shining with confidence, "I'll fight them."

"No, that's-!" Erza reached out to try and stop the little cat, but Jordan stopped her.

"I would only stop him if he couldn't handle this." He said as she looked him in the eye.

Skitt stopped in between his friends and the enemy, who snickered at his small stature and cutesy appearance.

"And who are you?" Daidos asked.

"My name is Skitt," The feline stuck his left paw out in front of him, and then his right one out to the side, "That name was given to me by a great man. Now I'm the one who'll kick all of your sorry butts!"

.

..

…

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The whole group busted out in raucous laughter, some were holding their stomachs and others actually dropped to the floor from laughing to hard.

"Hehehe," Even Daidos wasn't immune to it, "Now that was certainly an impressive sense of humor you had." He said as he regained his composure, "Now tell me, just what can a little feline do against the now enhanced might of Eisenwald?"

Skitt gave a grin that would've made Natsu or Tyson proud, "I can beat you, I know that much."

Daidos narrowed his glare, "Enough blather. Dispatch them!"

The dark wizards charged forward again. An exceptionally tall and muscular one wielding a large axe single-handedly was at the front. He raised it and prepared to swing down.

"This'll be too easy! Time to die you dumb ca-" _BAM_ "GRK!"

He was silenced as Skitt jumped up and kicked him in the jaw, knocking several teeth out. Another swung his sword while Skitt was in mid-air, but Skitt landed on the flat of the blade and used it as a springboard to punch the thug. Then jumping off him, Skitt spun and slammed two more across the face with his tail. He then dropped down and stomped on another's foot, making him yelp and leaving him open for Skitt to jump right up and headbutt his chin. He then proceeded to jump off of him and then leap towards the next groups of foes, taking each one down by jumping from body to body, much like how a pinball works. Ten more men fell down, out of the fight.

Erza couldn't hide her surprise. She knew from what she was told on the train ride that Skitt was tough despite being so small. But actually seeing him fight like an expert beyond his years was still a spectacle to look at. And also somewhat comedic in a way.

Daidos' eyes were twitching in anger. A single cat, barely a foot and a half tall, and he had decimated nearly half of their revived forces on his own! It was infuriating to say the least. It appears that these fools will need more assistance. So he turned to look at Byard's unconscious body.

'_Byard,'_ He thought to himself, _'Despite being overmatched you still fought for the pride of our guild. Unlike that poltroonish recreant Karacka who turned and fled without even endeavoring to stop our foes. Despite the infeasibility, you have earned my veneration. Now here is your second chance.'_

With that silent declaration, Daidos pulled down his mask, showing that his mouth stretched to the sides of his face. And stitched scars ran along the entirety of his mouth-line.

"Now, take the last of the energy I've stored! **Battery Magic: Critical Over!**"

Daidos opened his mouth wide, the energy coming from it was now red. It soared through the room and surrounded Byard's body. Slowly, the man began to stand up, his aura being something more intimidating than before.

"Let's smash some flies!" He yelled out.

'_**Critical Over**__ is my best spell,'_ Daidos thought as he panted, _'It increments my targets power tenfold. Along with integrating my own magic, along with the rest that I preserved up, it signifies Byard is more vigorous than he's ever been.'_

Erza could feel the proof. While she knew that she could still beat him if she were in even the slightest bit better condition, she still recognized that this man was much more powerful than before. She once again made an attempt to stand up, but Jordan's grip was firm.

"He's still got this." Was all he said.

Skitt watched as this new foe stood up. His animal instincts were telling him that this was a big threat in front of him.

"Time to die you shitty cat!" Byard roared.

"Maybe," Skitt responded, "Or maybe it's time I got serious as well."

Much like Erza did earlier, Skitt's whole body began to glow, the light being a bright pink color. But everyone could still make out his general shape. So they watched as he began to get big. Growing taller, leaner, more humanoid in shape and proportion while still maintaining his feline features. And when the light vanished, it was if they were staring at something else entirely.

The figure was around Natsu's height with a lean build. His entire body seemed to be clad in a form fitting battle suit, that was the same sandy beige color of Skitt's fur. It was covered in a series of glowing neon pink stripes and designs. Each arm had three stripes wrapping around it, and gloves with a single triangle on the back of the palm, and claws that were tipped with the same color which came out with a simple flex of the hand. The torso had three on each shoulder which stretched down to the pectorals. Three more stripes were on the back that all ended at the sides of the abdomen. There was another design like a belt wrapped around the hips, and from the center was a large arrow design that went from the belt to between the pectorals. In the back at the base of the spine was a tail with more stripes and tipped in legs had similar designs as the arms, and from the ankles to the center of the foot were more arrow shapes. Lastly, there was a helmet with cat shaped ears tipped in the neon pink, and stripes that went down the forehead and through the cheeks. And shielding the eyes was a pink visor, which showcased a pair of simplistic, yet serious black eyes.

All eyes but Jordan widened at the sight of the new figure.

"What is that?" Erza asked, amazed in her own right.

Jordan smirked, "_That_ is Skitt's Stand." He said, to Erza's continued surprise.

The now figure looked out to the enemies, **"I would NOT wanna be YOU today."** He declared with a deeper voice and a dramatic pose.

Though surprised by the change, most of the Esenwald mages were undeterred.

"You don't scare us!" One yelled as he charged.

"You got nothing on Erza!" Another followed up.

"**You're probably right."** Skitt responded. But then he took a step forward…

And _blurred_.

In what had to be under five seconds, Skitt tore through the group, taking thugs down before they could comprehend what they were up against. Punches, kicks, knees, tail whips. Skitt was a storm of attacks. And the bodies only kept piling up.

"**But I'm better than you, that's for sure!"** He declared as he charged into the fray.

"But what you said on the train," Erza started saying, "What he has is nothing like what you described."

_PUNCH_

"Yeah, those were the basic rules and features of most Stands," Jordan defended, "But there is also more to it."

_KICK_

"There are a number of outlier Stands out there that can bend or out right break those rules."

_SLAM_

"And Skitt is one of those outliers."

_CRUNCH_

"Unlike most, Skitt's Stand manifests as a wearable suit. While we don't know why it makes him bigger, his Stand can elevate his physical abilities to beyond superhuman levels."

_BASH_

"Add that to his own impressive fighting abilities,"

_THUD_. The last of the thugs had fallen

"And Skitt is his own force to be reckoned with."

Dozens of bodies laid at Skitt's feet, nary a scratch was visible on his suit. He then turned his sights on Byard who stood next to Daidos, the latter of whom was now sweating out of fear rather than exhaustion.

"You dirty little…" Byard jumped up and charged his **Light Magic **again, intending to bring his fists down on the armored feline like hammers, "I won't go down the same way twice!"

Skitt widened his stance, stuck his hands up, and caught Byard's hands in his own. He was unshaken even as the ground craterd. Then just as sudden, the light emanating from Byard's fist suddenly started to travel into Skitt's hands, which caused the highlights on his body to shine even brighter.

"**So that still works even now,"** Skitt uttered, **"Good to know."**

"You absorbed my magic?!" Byard was flabbergasted. He then felt the pressure of his opponent's grip increasing over his hands.

"**This is just my own special ability in play,"** Skitt elaborated, **"I can absorb artificial light, and use it to boost my abilities even further! This is the power of my Stand!"**

Skitt then released one of Byard's right arm, only to bring him forward with his left one. And with Skitt's now free left hand, he delivered a fierce barrage of blows to the side of Byard's head, fast enough to look like Skitt had multiple arms. He then released his other arm, but wound up one more big punch…

"**This is the power,"**

And uppercutted Byard hard enough to send him flying up to the high ceiling!

"**OF [NEON TIGER]!"**

Byard fell back to the floor, out for the count once again. Skitt then looked in Daidos' direction, the masked mage flinching, realizing he stood no chance against this foe. But before he could even think about his next action, Skitt stuck out his right hand. The palm glowed brightly, right before a blast of light shot from it and impacted Daidos, sending him flying into the side of the parked train and denting it!

'_So… strong…_' Were his last thoughts before he slumped over, unconscious.

**Names: Byard and Daido, two of Eisenwald's elite.**

**Magics: Light and Battery**

**Status: BOTH RETIRE! **

It was over.

In just the span of a few minutes, Skitt had repeated Erza's and Jordan's actions and massacred the whole enemy force on his own.

Skitt called his Stand back into him, fallin back on his behind as he panted.

"That was quite a workout…" He said to himself. "Funny how life works. You all trained and worked hard to get to where you are, only to get beaten up by a talking cat the size of a newborn human baby. I just think it's funny how life throws curveballs like that."

Jordan looked on with pride, "What did I tell you? Skitt knows how to handle himself. What do you think Erza?"

.

..

...

Erza was not actually paying attention to his words. Instead, she was actually thinking where she could get a suit of armor like that.

"...Erza?"

That part she heard. She quickly banished those thoughts from her mind and cleared her throat, "Yes, well, for someone so young to be capable of such feats, Skitt has certainly proved himself to be powerful."

"Trust me, underestimating any of us was the last mistake a lot of people made." Jordan then started walking towards the bodies, "I'm going to use my Stand to keep them all restrained to the floor. After that, I'll grab Skitt we'll meet up with the others."

Erza nodded and then watched him go. She couldn't help but feel proud. As new as these people were to the guild, they were proving to fit in just nicely. _'I just hope the others are okay…'_

**Earlier, With Natsu & Gray:**

"If we work together?! What was she thinking?!" Gray yelled.

"Yeah everybody knows fire and ice don't mix!" Natsu agreed.

"And why does she have to be so frigging bossy all the time?!"

"She could try to _ask _us to do stuff for her instead of ordering us around!"

"_I can take Erigor down myself, I don't need your help!"_ They said in unison, _"Hey quit copying me! !"_ They got into another short shoving match.

From behind, Michael, Curtis and Ray stared at them blankly.

"...Figures the only time they agree on something is when they both complain about the person who beat them." Curtis surmised.

"Well we still need their help. Strength in numbers and all." Michael said.

Soon enough, the group came down to a fork in the hallway.

"Which way do we go?" Natsu asked, as he looked down both hallways.

"It might be best if we split up here." Ray spoke.

"Right." Gray agreed, before looking back to the others, "Listen guys. Our opponent is a dangerous freak who's planning to unleash a deadly spell." Gray held up his clenched fist. "If any of you find him, take him down hard."

"Took the words from all of our mouths." Michael and Curtis nodded.

"He won't get off that easy." Natsu said, holding up a flaming fist. "He's the moron who picked a fight with Fairy Tail. And I'll burn him to a crisp for it!"

Natsu and Gray both grinned at each other. But as soon as they realized they were being nice to each other, they both quickly turned their heads away. The three Stand users smirked. Though Ray's was more of a small smile.

"Don't die." Gray said under his breath.

"Did you say something, Gray?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing! Just hurry and go!" Gray yelled, as he ran down one of the hallways.

"Aww, you guys do care about each other." Gray turned and saw Curtis running alongside him, a taunting smile on his face.

"Oh shut up! Why are you here?" Gray asked.

"You said it yourself. The threat is real so we need to handle this fast. Best way to do that is with numbers." Curtis explained.

"Alright fine," Gray relented, "So I was thinking that if Erigor does plan to broadcast **Lullaby **over the loudspeakers, then he's gotta be in the room with all the PA equipment right?"

"Sound theory. Let's see if we can't find it." Curtis said as he saw a sign for directions.

Seeing where said room was located, they sprinted down the hall to the indicated location and kicked the door down.

But strangely, the room was void of any people.

"There's nobody here…" Gray observed, "Maybe I was wrong about them broadcasting the song over the PA."

"Well then it looks like Michael and Ray's hunch was right." Curtis said.

"What?" Gray questioned, only for them both to feel a tingle shoot up their spines.

They dove out of the way as several black bandage-like cables slammed into the ground where they had been standing. They looked upwards to see Rayule smirking down at them.

"Well you two certainly have good instincts." Rayule said, as he used his cables to lower himself onto the ground like a spider. "You'll be a nuisance to our plans."

"So there really is something going on?" Gray asked, as the air chilled around him.

"Well now we got someone to confirm that theory." Curtis grinned as the air chilled around him too.

**Back Outside the Station:**

A large crowd was still gathered around the train station. People were discussing what could possibly be going on inside the train station.

"What's going on inside?"

"Military personnel went in, but they haven't come out yet."

"Have they all been defeated by the terrorists?"

"The wind is really strong today."

But all the talking stopped when two figures began to walk out of the station. A scarlet haired woman clad in armor, and a tall young man with brown hair in an odd style descended the stairs to the station. He also had a little cat creature riding on his shoulder. Everyone watched with bated breaths, as they approached a police officer.

"H-Hey! You were with the people who barged in earlier! What the hell is going on in there?!" The officer asked, but instead of asking Erza grabbed the megaphone from the man's hands.

"If you people value your lives, leave immediately! The station is occupied by dark mages!" Erza yelled into the megaphone, causing the crowd to let out a collective gasp. "One of them is ready to cast a spell that will kill everyone around here! Evacuate as far away as possible!"

The news shocked the crowd for a moment.

"You heard the lady!" Jordan called out, his voice heard as the crowd was silenced, "If none of you want to die then get outta here!"

At that, everyone turned and bolted away from the train station. Each of them was trying to get as far away as possible.

"Hey, why are you inciting a panic like that?!" The officer asked, as Erza dropped the megaphone.

"It's better than seeing them all die." Erza replied, turning to face the police officer. "What I said is true. My friends and I are doing everything possible to prevent that from happening, but we cannot guarantee your safety. So it's best for you to evacuate too."

"Gah!" The officer shrieked, before he ran out of the station.

"Well, all the civilians are out of range." Skitt said, "What'll Erigor do now?"

Before anyone could answer, a huge gust of wind blew past them. The trio had to shield their faces as the wind continued to pick up speed. After a few moments, Neither of them could believe what she was seeing.

"What the...?" Jordan said in disbelief, as he stared at the sight in front of him.

"How can this be?" Erza was just as shocked.

A massive wall of powerful wind had formed around the train station! Not just around, it towered over the train station. It looked as if the station was surrounded by a massive tornado.

"The station is surrounded by wind!" She yelled.

"Mmmm, what're these flies doing outside?" A cocky voice asked,

They turned around just in time to see Erigor descend on them. "Ah, you're the one who sent all the bystanders away. Hello _Titania_." He then looked towards Jordan and Skitt, "You may be new faces, but I'll just assume you're as troublesome as she is."

"Erigor!" Erza yelled, as she spun around to face Eisenwald's Ace. "Did you do this?" Erza gestured to the wall of wind behind her.

"You know, I always did want to test myself against you at least once." Erigor said with a smirk, but then he sighed. "But unfortunately I don't have time for that right now. So you three can just stay inside and behave." Erigor then blasted the three back with a powerful burst of wind. The force of the blast sent them flying through the wall of wind, and back into the train station. Coming to a skidding stop, they slowly rose back to their feet.

"You bastard!" Jordan exclaimed, summoning **[Crocodile Rock]** to try and punch through the wall. But he screamed in pain as his arm started leaking blood. His Stand pulled its hand back to see it all cut up.

"Jordan!" Erza and Skitt ran to his side, as he glared at Erigor through the wind.

"Don't bother trying to escape, my **Wind Wall** goes one way, from outside to inside." Erigor said with a cackle, from outside the wind wall. "If you flies try to escape, you'll be cut to shreds."

"What is the meaning of this?!" Erza yelled, anger evident in her tone.

"You insects have wasted enough of my time as is." Erigor said, as he began to fly off. "I've got bigger bugs to swat, so I must be going now."

"Where are you going!? Erigor!" Jordan screamed, as she clenched his bloodied fist.

"We're not finished here!" Erza clenched her teeth, as she hung her head. "What's...going on? This station isn't their target after all?!"

**The Ice Guys and Rayule:**

"I'll kill anyone who interferes with our plans." Rayule said, flashing the ice users an evil smirk.

"And are you really sure that the broadcast was your plan?" Curtis asked condescendingly.

Gray was confused by how he was acting, but when Rayule swung his cables like a whip, he quickly ducked. But he saw the silverette take the attack as the cables wrapped up his upper body. "Curtis!"

"And just what was that?!" Rayule asked tauntingly, "Are your reflexes shot fly?!"

"No," Curtis never lost his smile, "I just think ahead!"

He quickly summoned **[Hazy Winter]** and used it's longer range to close the distance between them. Not expecting this, Rayule left himself open to receive a kick to the face from the Stand's metal foot.

"**[Hazy Winter]!"**

"_**SHUUUUURIYA!"**_

Yelling it's battle cry, the ice Stand sent a powerful barrage of kicks towards Rayule, before throwing a roundhouse kick that sent the dark wizard into the wall. He then followed through by sealing his arms and legs in a thick layer of ice.

"Woah…" Gray was stunned at the quick subjugation. He could see how Curtis managed to fight Natsu to a draw with these quick actions.

"Sorry if you wanted to fight against him Gray," Curtis apologized as he slipped out of the bindings, "But we had to make this quick. Especially since Ray and Michael figured out Erigor's real plan."

"They did?/ They what?!" Gray and Rayule asked at the same time, though the latter was shocked.

"It was just a hunch at first," Curtis started to elaborate, "But what gave it away was your confidence from the start. The only thing **Lullaby** doesn't kill is whoever's playing the flute, meaning that if you guys all stayed here, the song would have killed you too. Now frankly, I don't think Erigor could give a shit whether you live or die," Rayule growled at him for that, "But you were all excited about your new 'Dark Age' so I doubt any of you were willing to go that far. Then Michael remembered something he saw on a map as we came into the station,"

_(A quick flash to Michael gazing at a bloodstained map.)_

"And after piecing everything together, we realized that this was all a ploy. You didn't take over the station to play the music here, you took over so that nobody could follow you to your real target!"

"What target is that?" Gray asked.

"Remember when Mira told us that master Makarov was attending a meeting in a town called Clover?" Curtis asked back, to which Gray nodded, "Well guess what stop comes right after this one, and due to being at the other end of a giant ravine is only accessible by train?" Curtis then stopped to glare at Rayule, "Or unless you can fly like Erigor."

Gray thought about it for a second, but then his eyes went wide in shock and realization, "Their real target… were the guild masters?!"

"HAHA! So you miserable flies figured it out, so what?!" Rayule laughed maniacally, as Gray's eyes darkened.

"You guys must be pretty ballsy to go after what have to be some of the toughest people in the country." Curtis stated.

Rayule continued ranting, "Those old farts won't even know what hit them when **Lullaby** starts playing! And with Erigor's **Wind Wall **around the station by now, you dumbasses are trapped in here! There's no stopping him now!"

Gray started stomping toward Rayule.

"You fools may have stood in our way, but now you're trapped like bugs in a web! So there's nothing you can do about it! Soon we'll have our revenge on everyone who oppressed us and stood in our way! We're wiping the slate clean, and when all is gone, we will be the ones to rule inste- GRK!"

Rayule's rant was stopped as Gray angrily grabbed him by the face.

"Let's get one thing straight you piece of shit!" He growled out, "That is not going to happen! You mess with the guild masters, then you mess with all of us! They may be old, but they're the closest things any of us have to real parents!" He then proceeded to completely freeze Rayule in ice.

"For an ice mage, you've certainly got a fire under you now." Curtis commented.

"We're gonna stop these guys," Gray turned to him, "And we're going to teach them that there are guilds even more frightening than dark guilds."

They then left the room.

They had a mission to complete…

**Name: Rayule, Top member of Eisenwald**

**Magic: Urumi**

**Status: RETIRED! **

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_**／**__**|_**_

_**〈 **__**To BE CONTINUED…**_

_**＼**_

_**A new card appears, revealing Skitt wearing [Neon Tiger].**_

_**Stand Name: [Neon Tiger]**_

_**Classification: Phenomenon**_

_**Type: Close Range**_

_**Stand Master: Skitt**_

_**Power- A**_

_**Speed- A**_

_**Range- B**_

_**Durability- A**_

_**Precision- C**_

_**Potential- C**_

_**References: Neon Tiger, a song by The Killers**_

_**Abilities:**__** [Neon Tiger] is a rare variation of Stands that manifests as a suit of armor for its user to wear and fight with. While wearing it, Skitt's already impressive physical abilities are boosted, allowing him to fight harder, faster, and better than before.**_

_**Photokinesis:**__** [Neon Tiger] can absorb artificial light sources to elevate its power even further. To what extent, has not yet been shown. In addition, it is capable of shooting light based projectiles from the palms of the suit. **_

**AN:**** HOLY CRAP this was a lot!**

**Sorry for the wait, a lot of stuff happened, and this chapter just kept stringing itself together like this. But I'm finally done! I actually wanted to put in more, shocking I know, but I wanted to get this done before tomorrow for one reason.**

**(Dramatic fanfare!)**

**It's my birthday!**

**Twenty years ago tomorrow I came into the world. It feels like just yesterday I was in my PJs, eating cereal, and watching cartoons. Now here I am, in my boxers, eating instant ramen, and watching R-rated movies and anime!**

**Anyway, next time! As the Fairy Tail team try to escape the station, Erigor gets a surprise visitor! And a certain flute will play it's swan song!**

**That's all the time I have, favorite, follow, review, and spread the love! Wash those hands and stay healthy!**

**C Ya!**


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